The prayers of the Scottish travelling public have been answered with direct flights from Scotland as Airtours Holidays launches its new cruise programme.

For the first time, Airtours Holidays will be flying from Prestwick Airport direct to the Caribbean, allowing customers to experience long haul cruising, direct from their local airport.

Featured in the new Airtours Sun Cruises year round brochure, four exotic cruises are now available for November 2003.

Two of the cruises will be onboard the Sunbird cruise ship and itineraries will feature captivating islands such as Puerto Rico, St Maarten, St Lucia and Barbados. A further two cruises will be onboard the Sundream and itineraries will feature Caribbean favorites such as Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Jamaica

Stuart Fairley, General Sales Manager for Airtours said: This is a great day for Scottish travelling public who until now have had to trek down to Manchester or London, to fly to the Caribbean.

Direct flights from Scotland to the Caribbean are what holidaymakers and travel agents have been wanting for so long and we`re delighted to be able to deliver.

He adds: If these winter routes prove a success, then maybe we can start to look at the long term options for long haul Caribbean routes direct from Scotland.

Tom Wilson Managing Director at Glasgow Prestwick International said: This is great news for Scottish holidaymakers who love cruising but have always had to travel via an English airport to get the best bargains. These direct flights will offer non-stop connections direct to the Caribbean from Scotland`s fastest growing airport.

We`re delighted to be working with Airtours and wish them every success with this new flight and future expansion.