Progressive Labour Party Senator Wayne Caines yesterday pledged tourism would not suffer following the collapse of a proposed Bermuda-Toronto Zoom Airlines service.

Reacting to Zoom's announcement that the planned route had been scrapped, Sen. Caines said: "This is a mere hiccup. We are working now to continue our strategic plan to ensure we have our low cost airlines coming to Bermuda."

Sen. Caines, who was speaking in the Senate's Budget Debate on Tourism, said the Island was "piggy in the middle" because of a fight between the UK and Canada.

He added: "Should we be deterred by this? It's a mere setback."

Yesterday, The Royal Gazette reported how Zoom was blaming UK air authorities for the withdrawal of the service.

This newspaper also revealed how, due to skyrocketing fuel prices, Delta Air Lines will not resume its seasonal New York La Guardia service, while United Airlines confirmed it would not resume its twice weekly service out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.