American Airlines takes off from Miami airport to British Virgin Islands

American Airlines officials and British Virgin Islands dignitaries were at Miami International Airport Thursday to announce the start of nonstop flight service from the airport to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

The three-hour flight will be offered daily through the summer and allow travelers to save time previously used to connect via Puerto Rico or a nearby location. After a pause at the end of summer, American, the largest airline serving the airport, will resume the daily Tortola flight in November.

On Thursday morning at Miami airport, a steel drummer played upbeat music to evoke the island fun feeling of visiting Tortola, a popular getaway destination near the U.S. Virgin Islands. A couple hours later at 10:20 a.m., the first flight from Miami to the British territory took off.

“We’re incredibly proud because this is just another step of American’s dreams in the Caribbean,” said Juan Carlos Liscano, American Airlines vice president of Miami airport hub operations. “It’s one of 140 destinations that we fly to. We worked really hard to prepare the team here at MIA for this expansion of services.”

The additional commercial service by American Airlines, the world’s biggest airline, is the latest example of an airline expanding the global reach from Miami airport.

In December 2022, several airlines at the airport added, resumed or expanded direct flights to seven destinations in France, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Canada.