Caribbean Airlines suffered a US$14. 2 million loss in six weeks due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

This was disclosed yesterday by Allyson West, an official  in Trinidad and Tobago’s  Ministry of  Finance.

She said estimated losses at Caribbean Airlines were racked up from March 23 to April 30.

West gave the information in the Senate in response to United National Congress Senator Wade Mark’s query. She  said the negative impact started in March due to a drop in demand for air travel and was exacerbated by the closure of  Trinidad and Tobago’s borders.

Despite air travel being restricted, she said Caribbean Airlines was still required to maintain its operating systems.

During his COVID-19 update last weekend, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley noted that it was very costly to keep the airline going even while the fleet was grounded.

Dr. Rowley said one of  the first actions to cushion the continuing losses may be chartered services to get people to destinations or back home.

Meanwhile , Virgin Atlantic yesterday announced it will resume flights to Jamaica and other destinations in the Caribbean in coming months.

The airline earlier announced that services from London Heathrow are expected to resume from July 20.

Virgin Atlantic said flights from Barbados to London Heathrow will start on August 2.

Flights to Antigua, Montego Bay, and Tobago will return in October.

Its Barbados-based Caribbean Ticket Office will re-open on August 4, to support bookings and enquiries.

However, Virgin Atlantic says it is monitoring external conditions extremely closely, in particular the travel restrictions many countries have in place including the 14 day quarantine policy for travellers.