Flights to Bermuda are up a remarkable 17 percent so far this year while elsewhere in the world routes are being cut, Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown revealed yesterday.

The number of flights has increased from 99 a week last year to 116 to date this year - and more new services are set to be announced shortly, he said.

The numbers were revealed at a press conference when US Airways unveiled their new services to Bermuda, including an extra daily weekday service to Philadelphia, and a resumed route to Baltimore Washington International (BWI).

This extra daily Philadelphia service - which leaves the city at 5.20 p.m. arriving in Bermuda at 8.37 p.m. - has been timed to link well with flights to Europe.

As Philadelphia is US Airways' American hub, Bermuda will be linked to 65 US cities and 11 European destinations non-stop.

Dr. Brown said yesterday: “Drastic cuts in the numbers of flights took place at many US cities between 2001 and 2003: Boston, Los Angeles and Washington were down by a staggering 27 percent and New York fell by 20 percent.

“Popular vacation destinations such as Miami and Honolulu also dropped by 20 percent and Caribbean destinations saw between a 15-20 percent drop.

“I say this to put into context the remarkable achievement which this expansion by US Airways in Bermuda represents - Bermuda will enjoy double digit growth in flights this year.

“This 17 percent increase in flights - with more to come - will mean more visitors, more business for our hotels, taxis and retailers and expanded opportunities for Bermuda to better compete with other leisure travel destinations from major US and European markets.”

Government and the private sector have come together to share the risk involved so the airline would not shoulder all the potential loss on the new routes, said Dr. Brown.

Government alone undertook to provide a financial guarantee to US Airways on the weekly summer flight to Fort Lauderdale, but that was not necessary as the route was a success.

David Johnson, US Airways director for the Caribbean and Latin America, said the airline always got great support from Dr. Brown's department, the airport and the Department of Tourism.

“This is a great success story that I am privileged to be able to share with you,” he said yesterday.

So far this year, US Airways has doubled the number of daily flights to Philadelphia from one to two each day, introduced a new route to Baltimore Washington International - which was cancelled two years ago - introduced a weekly summer flight to Orlando, and doubled the weekly summer service to Fort Lauderdale to twice weekly.

Airport general manager James Howes said the new flight to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) beginning on June 6 had caused great excitement in Maryland.

He read a statement from Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, who said: “The State of Maryland applauds US Airways for introducing new direct service to Bermuda from BWI.”

And Paul Wiedefeld, the executive director of Maryland Aviation Administration, which runs airports in the state, said: “We are very enthusiastic about this new scheduled service from BWI to Bermuda.

“Direct service to Bermuda is one of the most requested routes for BWI customers. Bermuda is such a quick getaway for our customers living in Maryland, Washington, Virginia and the surrounding region.

“After a convenient, short flight of just over two hours, passengers can be in the splendour and paradise of Bermuda.”