American Airlines has joined the travel industry wave and will eliminate single-use plastic straws from the carrier’s flights and airport lounges.

The world’s passenger fleet will more than double to 48,000 aircraft in 20 years with traffic growing at a resilient 4.4% per year.

The airline will operate the new route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays using new generation aircraft Boeing 737 Max 8.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has warned governments in the region about the adverse effects of high air travel-related taxes and fees on travel as they wrestle with balancing budgets.

The reintroduction of direct flights between Johannesburg and Madrid by Spanish flag-carrier airline Iberia in August 2016 has resulted in a significant boost in travel between South Africa and Spain.

These newest domestic long-haul services are operated onboard the airline's leisure carrier Air Canada Rouge, which will be celebrating its fifth birthday on July 1.