ST GEORGE'S, Grenada, January 20, 2010 – The world’s largest airline will begin operations into Grenada this summer. Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Glynis Roberts on Wednesday confirmed that Delta Air Lines will commence scheduled service from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to the Maurice Bishop International Airport in St. George’s starting from July 3, 2010. In addressing the 2010 Budget at the Grenada Trade Centre Minister Roberts said that the government will continue its aggressive efforts to expand airlift service to Grenada. The non-stop service departs JFK at 8:30 a.m. and arrives in Grenada at 1:20 p.m. with the return flight scheduled to depart at 2:10 p.m. and arriving in New York at 7:30 p.m. Delta will use its 737-800 aircraft which offers 16 First Class seats and 144 Coach Class seats. The Minister said that the new service from Delta will also encourage more nationals to return home during the Festive seasons, starting with Carnival this summer. Roberts, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for St. George South,said that the new flight, which will operate only on Saturdays, is also as a result of the Grenada Board of Tourism’s road shows on the eastern corridor and the excellent work of the Airlift Committee led by Mr. Michael McIntyre. “I think we’re going in the right direction and we just need to continue on our marketing drive, including the Diaspora, with the hope of acquiring a second flight from Delta,” Roberts said. She said that Virgin Atlantic is also offering another weekly service from the UK and Air Canada has expressed an interest to provide year-round service to Grenada. Culture Minister, Senator Arley also welcomed the announcement of the new flight describing it as an excellent opportunity to increase visitors for our Carnival. “This is also consistent with our aggressive marketing campaign over the last year, particularly in the region, North America and Europe,” said Senator Gill. “The mission is to take Grenada to the world,” he added. The weekly service is expected to provide additional seats to the island which is already served by American Airlines and Air Jamaica from the United States; British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Monarch and Condor from Europe and Air Canada, Sky Service and Zoom from Canada during the winter. Passengers flying with Delta will be able to make connections to more than 360 destinations, using the airline’s hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, as well as its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers.