Barbados and Panama are "on the verge of cementing air links as a vital element" in their efforts to strengthen cooperation in the areas of tourism and culture. This disclosure came last evening from Minister of Industry, Small Business and Rural Development, Denis Kellman.

Airlines that change their rules, ownership structures and business arrangements at will pose a danger to the ongoing viability of the Caribbean tourism product. This was the message sent by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, as he addressed the UNWTO 19th General Assembly.

Starting in summer 2012, airberlin will increase the number of flights from JFK to Berlin with daily service, new nonstop service from LAX to Berlin, and increased frequencies from Miami and San Francisco. Airberlin’s nonstop service from Los Angeles to Berlin makes it the first airline to service this route.

Aeromexico will start direct flights between Mexico City and Caracas, as part of international expansion plan announced by the company earlier this year.

Five more Caribbean nations have given permission for low-cost carrier REDjet to operate flights from their countries. This was revealed by REDjet chief executive Ian Burns at a news conference yesterday at the Crowne Plaza, Port-of-Spain.

In September 2011, airberlin welcomed 3,683,519 passengers on board, i.e. about 1 percent more than in the corresponding month of the previous year (September 2010: 3,652,087 passengers).