America’s Virginia state eyes direct flight link with Singapore

washington-dulles-international-airport
Washington Dulles International Airport

The US state of Virginia is looking to leverage Singapore as a hub to target corporate and leisure travellers from South-east Asia.

To that end, Terry McAuliffe, governor of Virginia, who was on a trade mission to Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia last week, said he would like to see Singapore Airlines (SIA) operate direct flights to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Rita McClenny, president and CEO, Virginia Tourism Corporation, said: “United Airlines (UA) and Air China currently offer the biggest number of direct flights between Beijing and Dulles and the governor has renegotiated a revised agreement with UA to commit to Dulles airport to 2024.”

She adds that the purpose of coming to Singapore is to raise awareness about business and tourism opportunities in Virginia and to “talk to airlines and tour operators to create US tour packages that incorporate a two- to-four-night stay in Virginia”.

Hopes are for SIA to operate non-stop services to Dulles as well, even as the national carrier is set to resume direct flights to New York – which is a five-hour drive from Virginia’s capital of Richmond – in 2018.

Asia contributes an estimated 510,000 arrivals out of 1.7 million international visitors to Virginia annually.

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