Historic occasion witnessed by island 's dignatories
St. Kitts Monday 12 January 2009: A spectacular folklore performance of stilt-walkers and steelpan music greeted British Airways inaugural flight, as it touched down at St. Kitts Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on Saturday from UK 's London (Gatwick) via Antigua .
The historic ceremony was graced by Prime Minister the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas who applauded the new service in his welcome speech.
"By this historic and momentous occasion, our Federation is signalling to our tourism industry partners and the rest of the world, our serious commitment and our willingness to redefine ourselves as a tourist destination and to find the most profound ways to build and expand this very vital sector of our economy," said Prime Minister Douglas, who is also the Minister of Tourism.
The historic flight arrived with more than 100 passengers on board including Minister of State for Tourism, Sports and Culture, Hon. Richard Skerritt as well as top British Airways officials including Richard Tams, Head of UK & Ireland Sales. Other VIP passengers included Hon. Cedric Liburd, Minister of Agriculture, Cooperatives, Fisheries, Lands, Housing and Consumer Affairs; Hon. Carlisle Powell, Nevis' Minister for Communications, Works, Public Utilities; Alfonso O'Garro, Chairman of the Board for the Tourism Authority; Alison Nichols, Business Development Manager British Airways and Karen Gordon, British Airways Marketing.
The Prime Minister expressed thanks to the management of British Airways for partnering with St. Kitts and Nevis and for having the confidence to pursue "this very ambitious and demanding project."
Prime Minister Douglas said the weekly flight is "confidence in our small island nation to take this bold step today gives us greater sense of pride and industry to continue on the path of excellence and enterprise that we have set for ourselves as a people pursing this country as a tourist destination."
In the Press Conference and Reception that followed the Opening Ceremony, Richard Tams from British Airways also spoke about the historic occasion of the BA Inaugural.
"Today's flight is ‘historic' in that it represents a new scheduled service from an airline that does not start new routes lightly while also being the shortest in terms of the Antigua-St. Kitts leg," Tams said. "It is also a significant event both for St. Kitts and British Airways. Our first flight yesterday was almost full which is a good indication of things to come and which we hope will help to stimulate the local economy and tourism of St. Kitts and the region."