PROVIDENCIALES — With “a heavy heart”, interCaribbean Airways has advised that services to St. Thomas and to St. Croix are now cancelled.

According to an official statement, the airline has been working for several months to have its USVI filings process completed. Over a month ago, it deployed an additional aircraft to Tortola, “but given the unusually lengthy processes to get to a starting point, it has become clear that the approval process and our priorities are not aligned.”

interCaribbean will now redeploy the aircraft into other operations and growth opportunities.

“A key element at any new city served is selecting a partner handling company. In the case of the USVI, we are confronted with handling costs that are three to four times the norm across our entire network of cities. We simply will not pay such outrageous prices. We cannot expect to have to double our everyday affordable low airfares to compensate, for we will not see support from the travelling public,” said the airline.

The airline has elected to postpone service to St. Thomas and St. Croix until winter 2018, to “give time and opportunity to consider other options to create effective partner handling, and for all authorities to take all the time needed.”

interCaribbean also wishes to acknowledge that it has seen the full cooperation from the Customs and Border Protection (CPB) and the TSA (Transport Security Administration) Agencies in receiving its early and timely approvals for both destinations.