JetBlue resumes TCI flights in August; 31 commutes from NY and Ft Lauderdale

#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – July 17, 2020 — The ‘Do Not Travel’ order is lifted by the US Department of State for Americans who want to journey abroad and on July 22, the Turks and Caicos reopens to international travel for the first time since shutting down in March due to the public health threat of the coronavirus.

Flight frequency and visitor arrivals will be significantly reduced and landings at the Providenciales International Airport (PLS) will ramp up in August, with the addition of JetBlue flights.

From New York’s JFK International Airport, JetBlue will deliver 31 flights to the PLS in August.  JetBlue has scheduled eight flights from the Ft Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport; commuting on Tuesdays and Saturdays only at this stage.

Jet Blue was the first US airline to make mask wearing mandatory; instituting the measure since April.

A survey published on July 15 by the Mooresville Tribune evaluated seven airlines’ policies and practices in this post-Covid19 era. 

NY based Jet Blue fell right in the middle of the stack with an overall, ‘B-‘ grade. 

On travel flexibility, JetBlue earned a ‘B’ scoring the above average grade when it decided to be more liberal with date changes, which reduced the likelihood of attracting additional fees.

Although the survey results were a ‘C’ grade for JetBlue on Health and Safety, the airline on Monday confirmed its “in-flight social distancing measures will continue to be in place until September 8th.”

The report on Simple Flying explained the middle seats on JetBlue’s larger jet aircraft and aisle seats on smaller planes will remain empty until the fall.

Lighter loading of flights is recommended by US Authorities, however carriers are left to their own devices on when, how and if they will apply the advice.

JetBlue will temperature check customer-facing crew and like American Airlines, passengers are informed in advance of the flight load and given the option to travel on a less busy service if available.

Face coverings are mandatory on all flights and JetBlue informs that if a customer arrives without one, a face mask will be provided.

JetBlue’s first flight back to PLS arrives on August 1 from JFK; it is scheduled to land at 11:23 a.m.