An airline has confirmed that its Bermuda routes will shift to a summer only service as the company made changes in line with “customer demand”.

JetBlue said that its flights to New York and Boston would halt in October and return in spring 2023.

A JetBlue spokesman said this week: “As we have throughout the pandemic, we are continually evaluating our route map to ensure it is aligned with customer demand trends and to help us get back to profitability on a consistent basis.

“As part of our ongoing review of our network, this spring we’ll end service on 17 routes that have underperformed and transition a handful of markets to seasonal – Bermuda being one of them.

“Changes to our service from New York-JFK and Boston to Bermuda will go into effect this fall, with the 2022 flying season ending on October 30.

“Flights will resume in spring of 2023.”

The news came after a Bermuda Tourism Authority spokeswoman – who clarified an earlier statement – also confirmed that the services will be suspended over the winter season.

She added that there was no guarantee the airline would return to year-round services.

JetBlue had flown to Bermuda from New York all year round. Its Boston service to the island in the winter months ended last November.

The BTA spokeswoman said: “JetBlue confirmed their commitment to serving the Bermuda route with the announcement that the suspension of flights is limited to the winter season, which starts November 1.

“2022 flights will continue as scheduled until the end of October 2022, and Boston and New York flight routes will resume as seasonal in April 2023.”

She added that the season ran from the start of April to the end of October.

The spokeswoman said: “We cannot guarantee that JetBlue will resume with a year-round service to the island.”

An earlier comment from the BTA said that the suspension of flights was “limited to the 2022-23 winter season”.

The spokeswoman added this week: “BTA is focused on aggressively promoting Bermuda to bring visitors back.

“With demand will come additional air service.”

Charles Jeffers II, the BTA chief executive officer, said earlier: “Our tourism industry counts on the support of our airline partners, and we could not be happier to continue our relationship with JetBlue – a boost much needed by the island.

“We at the Bermuda Tourism Authority are committed to working with partners and stakeholders to boost the industry and bring our tourism numbers back to pre-pandemic levels and, with that, the airlift needed to make that happen.”