Winter is coming, which means more Americans will soon be looking to travel to sunny vacation destinations. Many of these will be in the Caribbean, as the Caribbean Tourism Organization reports that the United States is the top source market for the islands. 

In fact, 16.8 million people from the U.S. visited the Caribbean in 2024, which was a 3.5% increase in U.S. tourists compared with 2023 and a 7.9% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

Sadly, one Caribbean Island is losing a major airline partner, as JetBlue will pull out of the airport entirely starting in January of 2026. Travelers will no longer be able to fly JetBlue to this destination after that time. 

JetBlue planes will no longer head to this destination.

Image source: Getty Images

JetBlue is canceling all flights to top vacation destination starting in January

JetBlue revealed that it will cancel flights to Bonaire, a Caribbean island to which the airline started flying just 14 months ago.

According to SimpleFlying, JetBlue offered a four-hour flight from New York’s JFK Airport directly to Bonaire’s Flamingo International Airport. Bonaire’s airport is located close to Kralendijk, which is both the capital of Bonaire and the most prominent community on the island. 

The JFK flight will end in January and will mark JetBlue Airlines’ complete exit from Bonaire International Airport. This will make it much harder for tourists from the U.S. to get to the island, known as one of the best diving destinations in the Caribbean. 

Passengers will have fewer options for visiting Bonaire

JetBlue’s exit could notably impact travelers and make a major difference in consumers’ ability to get to their chosen destination.

As SimpleFlying reported, “The route was supported with additional services to all of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao), and will leave American Airlines (Miami), Delta Air Lines (Atlanta), and United Airlines (Houston and Newark) as the sole U.S. operators to the airport.”

This means passengers may need to leave from a different airport entirely, or will need to get a connecting flight, if they want to visit Bonaire. 

The JetBlue Bonaire flight had raised controversy

The flight that JetBlue is canceling has raised questions in the past about its impact on the Bonaire government. 

Just this past July, The Daily Herald reported that Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) had come under scrutiny for entering into an agreement with JetBlue and other airline carriers to provide compensation for an underperformance in revenue from passengers.

TCB had reportedly entered into an agreement with JetBlue in 2023 that left Bonaire with $4.1 million in liability, with the potential damage rising to $12.3 million in the coming two years. 

While it’s not uncommon for tourist destinations with vacant hotel rooms to sometimes try to convince airlines to fly to their destination by offering seat guarantees, this presents a significant financial risk to Bonaire’s government since TCB operates under the direct authority of Bonaire OLB, which is a public entity. 

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The Committee for Financial Supervision raised deep concern about the agreement in June, and specifically the “unfunded commitments” that TCB had made.

BBonaire’s Executive Council was reportedly trying to negotiate early termination of the agreement with JetBlue in an attempt to avoid paying the additional $8.2 million owed under it. 

It is unclear if this contributed to JetBlue canceling these flights, and the airline did not respond to requests for comment from SimpleFlying.

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