That Cabinet Office has announced today that the Government of Bermuda is offering support to Bermudian students who need to travel over the Christmas period or in the near future for educational purposes via the Government’s Frequent Flyer Points Programme.
The public will recall that the Government's 2017 election platform required all travel booked with public funds be recorded under a single business frequent flyer account in the name of the Government of Bermuda, as part of its promise to improve efficiency.
The accumulated points from travel would then be used to assist Bermudian students travelling abroad for education, athletes representing the island, and other citizens needing support for travel in emergencies. Since the programme was implemented, the points have been used to assist a number of students in returning home or to university and athletes travelling abroad to represent Bermuda in competitions.
Last month, the Government was informed that the Business Extra programme will end on 15 December 2023. Since the Government was told that the programme would be ending, assistance has been offered, in the first instance, to several local organisations and residents in need via Government departments.
In November, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport informed the Bermuda Arts Council that assistance could be extended to local creatives who needed to travel abroad. In addition, Minister Owen Darrell personally extended an offer of assistance to National Sports Governing Bodies at their Annual General Meeting on 28 November. Inviting them to write to the Cabinet Office should help be needed for their athletes. Additionally, the Cabinet Office also extended the offer of assistance to residents who need to travel for medical reasons through the Health Insurance Department.
Given the deadline is approaching, the Government would like to extend this offer of assistance to the public to ensure the expiring miles are used. This may support flights for Bermudian students wishing to travel home for the holidays or those needing support in returning to university or related travel in the near future that would be via American Airlines.
Requests for assistance can be sent via email to premier@gov.bm and must be submitted by 5pm on 14 December to allow the team time to process requests before the booking deadline of 15 December.
Requests should include the full itinerary, including flight information, desired dates of travel, and an official quote for tickets from the American Airlines website or an official travel site. Persons who request support must also have a credit card readily available to cover taxes, as the points programme cannot cover these.
The government hopes this support can help alleviate the financial burden for some Bermudian families this Christmas and encourages those needing assistance to apply.