The Tribune

MORE than 100 passengers landed in Grand Bahama from Italy on Thursday with the arrival of the NEOS airline.

The airline’s arrival at Grand Bahama International Airport was a special one because it represented the return of non-stop direct service from Europe to the island after almost four years.

The once-weekly service will continue through September.

Passengers were greeted by tourism officials and got a taste of Junkanoo outside the terminal.

Nuvolari Chootosingh, manager at the Ministry of Tourism in Grand Bahama, was excited about the return of NEOS to Grand Bahama.

“Today’s return of the flight from Italy is wonderful for GB,” he said, at the Grand Bahama International Airport.

“The last time the flight came to GB was in 2019 before Hurricane Dorian, and then we had the pandemic. So, to have the return of this flight out of Italy is absolutely wonderful.”

Mr Chootosingh said that NEOS will be coming to Freeport once a week on Thursdays until September 7. Guests will be staying at the all-inclusive Viva Wyndham Club Fortuna Beach Resort.

He reported that 105 passengers were onboard the flight, but expects the numbers will increase in the summer.

Before the flight returned, he said that tour operators travelled to Grand Bahama and were very happy with the tourist product.

“The European market loves the soft adventures that Grand Bahama has to offer. And so, we believe this will continue to benefit Grand Bahama, and will see the numbers continue to go up.

When asked about new airlifts to Grand Bahama, Mr Chootosingh said the air service from Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina on Bahamasair has also started.

“The Ministry of Tourism continues to push forward on increasing airlift to The Bahamas, and to GBI,” he said.