London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

PREMIER DISCUSSES AIRLIFT PROS & CONS

PREMIER DISCUSSES AIRLIFT PROS & CONS

Hon. Andrew Fahie says that since he became Premier he has had a change of position as it relates to airport development in order to improve the Territory’s airlift capability. The subject of airlift was broached at a town hall meeting with cruise line executives on 2 October.
The conversation was raised by a resident who questioned the possibility of the British Virgin Islands becoming a homeport for cruise ships.

In responding to the question Sandra Weir, the VP of Destination Development and Government Relations for Norwegian Cruise Line explained that such an undertaking would require proper hotels and airlift.

Weir told the enquiring resident: “We need airlift, that is your most important thing. Being a homeport, you need airlift. You need good hotels for the people to stay in, because they do want to come in a day or two before, everybody is worried about missing their ship. They want to make sure they are here and with plenty of time they want to explore the islands, they need some good land background; so if you need to work on anything you need to lengthen those runways,” she explained.

The Norwegian cruise line representative further questioned why the Territory was not in a position to accept direct flights from the United Kingdom: “Christine and I have been saying the whole time why don’t we see direct flights from the UK here, because we have all been getting a lot of UK customers. You create that demand. You get them here and we will come pick them up, but we need to rely on you to create that,” Weir said.

Incidentally, earlier this month: in the Cayman Islands, plans for a $200 million cruise berthing facility were heavily criticised as they would increase the annual figure of cruise ship visitors to over two and a half million (2,500,000) which is deemed by many as an unsustainable volume of tourists. In December 2018 the Cayman government received “formal financial commitments” from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corporation to help build the planned cruise berthing facilities in George Town. This was viewed by many with skepticism then, and more so now.

Meanwhile in the BVI, the question and response on the subject of expansion attracted a comment from Premier and Minister for Finance, Hon. Fahie who explained that since taking office he has been pondering the matter of how to improve the airlift situation in the Territory.

In noting where he now stands on the subject Hon. Fahie said that he has been encouraged by more than one group to improve the airlift situation and attract larger hotels in the Territory: “I am so glad that you mentioned about the airlift, because that has been one of the areas the cruise lines have been stressing. Also, in terms of larger hotels they have been stressing that, also in the financial services industry with economic substance coming on, they have been stressing that. As you know we are moving towards medical schools they have been stressing that,” Hon. Fahie said.

In previous discussions on the subject of airlift the topic of airport runway expansion often comes up and over recent years there has been a split among residents as it relates to those who are for and those who are against such development.

The BVI Premier admitted that he was one of the people who was not very convinced prior to the election that the airport development needed to take place now: “I just want to let people know that it is a conversation that we have to have. I know that for some it is not a topic that some want to hear; and I must admit that as Premier when I ran I was 40 percent for it and 60 percent against.”

However, Hon. Fahie said that his position has now changed based on the evidence for the development that he has seen.

“We would discuss it and look about the pros and cons of it for our economy, but I am glad that it came up… not from me; but I needed to piggyback on it to let you know that all of the industries are pointing in this direction, so it is a conversation very soon that we must have,” the Premier added.

Pundits feel that the BVI has first and foremost to go through substantial and tangible recovery, financially, socially and infrastructurally before considering major plans and investments like airport expansion. Foreign investors building huge hotels has been proven to be partly beneficial to the BVI because the profits go abroad and the staff often consists of imported labour while BV Islanders are on the dole. Books on the subject have been written by Dr. Michael O’Neal (2012) and Dr. Pierre Encontre (1989).
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×