Palm Beach County residents who enjoy island hopping by air to the Bahamas soon will have service to Marsh Harbour at their disposal when Tropic Ocean Airways, a regularly scheduled and charter carrier, inaugurates flights on Wednesday out of West Palm Beach.
The Fort Lauderdale-based airline said it intends to fly the route on Thursdays and Sundays, adding more routes from West Palm Beach “in the coming months.”
“We’ve noticed the trend of South Florida residents moving north to Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast and are excited to introduce scheduled flights between Palm Beach and Marsh Harbour,” Rob Ceravolo, the CEO and founder, said in a statement.
One-way prices will range from $237 to $450 per seat.
The flights will leave from Palm Beach Atlantic Aviation at Palm Beach International Airport, and land at Marsh Harbour Cherokee Aviation in Abaco, the largest of the Abacos island group. Taxi and car services are available at the Bahamian airport.
Customers will have access to a private lounge, free parking at Atlantic Aviation, and a baggage allowance of 50 pounds per person. Pets are welcome. Passengers may arrive for their flights just 30 minutes before takeoff, a narrow window for international flights.
The airline, which has been operating for more than a decade, is starting the service nearly five years after Hurricane Dorian flattened much of the Abacos in 2019. Although the cays “have substantially recovered,” spokeswoman Kiara Pajon said in an email, “there is still a lot of work to be done in Marsh Harbour.”
Many inns, restaurants and marine facilities have been rebuilt and new ones have opened.
After the storm hit, the airline “partnered with many organizations and the Bahamian Government” in the storm’s wake, delivering 196,150 pounds of relief aid and evacuating 859 people.
“We had a local in Abaco reach out to us recently saying she enrolled in pilot school hoping she could someday work for Tropic because of the impact we made on her family,” Pijon said. “Stories like these are humbling and make us so proud to be back.”
Service Profile
- Fleet: 14 aircraft (nine-passenger wheeled planes that will serve Marsh Harbour and eight-passenger seaplanes).
- Scheduled service: Flights operate between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Bimini seven days per week and land on the water, to Cat Cay three days per week and to Great Harbour two days per week.
- Private charters: To and from South Florida’s three international airports, as well as Opa-locka, a Miami seaplane base, Stuart, Vero Beach and Fort Pierce.