KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica has recovered all lost seats following Sunday’s collapse of Thomas Cook, which flies a significant number of visitors to the island from Manchester, England.

“Today Jamaica became the first country to conclude fully, all the arrangements to recover the loss airlift occasioned by the collapse of Thomas Cook,” said Bartlett.

Noting that all partners have responded positively to Jamaica, Bartlett said the ministry is projecting an increase in flights from the region for the upcoming winter season.

“We have met with all our key partners, our three major airlines – TUI, Virgin and British Airways and we have completely restored all the seats that would have been lost for the period and we are expecting additional arrivals for the winter,” the minister said.

Bartlett added that the exact number of new seats for the winter season will be announced when he returns to the island, but noted that rotations will definitely increase.

According to the minister, 7300 visitors were expected via 16 Thomas Cook charters to Jamaica between now and March 2020. This, he says, represents a potential loss of US$10 million in tourism.

“The fallout that we expect will be minimal in terms of the six rotations that are immediate. The way we look at it is that they will be re-booking with some of the other carriers like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and so on. That would minimise that fallout, so instead of the 1,800, we could recoup about 900,” Bartlett said.