American Airlines will begin a new weekend route from New York to Bermuda this winter, Bermuda Skyport announced today.

The new service will kick off in December with a weekly flight from LaGuardia Airport every Saturday, year-round.

Zane DeSilva, the tourism and transport minister, said his ministry continues to work closely with Skyport, the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the Bermuda Airport Authority to identify and pursue air services opportunities that will help sustain air visitor arrival growth.

“American Airlines’ new LaGuardia service helps us achieve that by ensuring increased seat capacity out of New York, our largest visitor market, and it demonstrates the confidence that our airline partners have in Bermuda,” she said.

Vasu Raja, vice-president of network and schedule planning for American, said: “As we looked at our Latin America and Caribbean network, we saw some unique opportunities to grow, providing more service to the places our customers value most. We know that customers who travel for business during the week are seeking Caribbean destinations on the weekends, and we’re looking forward to providing new opportunities for that this winter.”

The flight will begin service on December 21. It will depart LaGuardia at 8am and arrive in Bermuda 11.30am before departing at 12.30pm to fly back to LaGuardia.

Aaron Adderley, president of Skyport, said: “It’s good to once again have a direct service out of New York LaGuardia ensuring that each of the three major New York City airports now has non-stop service to Bermuda. LaGuardia has long been a favourite for persons living in Manhattan given its immediate proximity and we believe it will no doubt appeal to Bermuda residents for that same reason.”

“Expanding airlift out of the Northeast has been a repeated request of the BTA and this certainly helps in that regard. With this new service now secured, there are other opportunities that we are actively pursuing, and we hope to see those brought to fruition soon,” Mr Adderley said.

The LaGuardia service cements American Airlines as Bermuda’s largest carrier, bringing its total number of flights to the island to six, adding to its daily service to Miami, Philadelphia, and New York’s JFK, and seasonal service to both Charlotte and Washington D.C