The Caledonian Airways DC-10 landed Thursday at the Cyril E. King Airport, bringing 129 tourists to the Virgin Islands on "holiday."
The flight, which originated at London's Gatwick Airport, will operate every two weeks during May and June and every week during July and August. And Virgin Islands residents will be able to fly to London on the return flights.
The aircraft can carry 350 passengers. Of the 236 on the inaugural flight to St. Thomas, 107 went on to Antigua.
But George Blundell-Pound, commercial director for Caledonian Airways, said, "We want to make the flight to Antigua unnecessary and drop off the 356 passengers in the U.S. Virgin Islands every time we come," according to a release from the Tourism Department.
Caledonian Airways, one of the U.K.'s leading charter airlines, is already well-established in the Caribbean. Its planes fly regularly from London to Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts.
Caledonian will pick up the biweekly schedule again in September, and in October will resume weekly flights to St. Thomas.
Gloria Gumbs, public relations manager for Tourism, said she is investigating who will book the Caledonian flights from St. Thomas to London and will issue a press release when she has that information.
The welcoming party at the airport Thursday included Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, acting Tourism Commissioner Clement "Cain" Magras, Port Authority's Executive Editor Gordon L. Finch, mocko jumbies and steel pan players.
Among the passengers on the inaugural flight were nine travel agents/tour operators and two British travel writers.