The Tribune

THE Ministry of Aviation & Transport’s indifferent approach to an “overflight” revenue sharing agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration has cost The Bahamas’ cash strapped Public Treasury potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in fees.

In 2006 the FAA began charging “Enroute” fees for aircraft using its domestic airspace and those foreign carriers whose 511,000 flights pass through Miami Oceanic (ZMA) airspace – consisting of the sovereign, but FAA controlled, airspace of The Bahamas’ archipelago - on routes between Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Central America and Mexico.

According to documents obtained exclusively by The Tribune, while the FAA has been collecting $58.75 a mile in “Enroute” fees as mandated by the U.S. Congress for flights that use our strategic airspace – which has been redesignated by the FAA as Miami Oceanic (ZMA) – the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) commented that the FAA was only able to have the first “official dialogue” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March, 2014, after submitting its “Air Navigation Service Provider Proposal back in 2006.”

A former high ranking official with the FAA commented that “I always found it fascinating that the U.S. has to unilaterally resolve and to coordinate air-space issues — which lie in the heart of your nation’s geographical borders – while your Government takes years to respond to our proposal!”

This agreement has suddenly taken on a new sense of urgency with President Obama’s visit to Cuba and the reopening of diplomatic relations between the two nations. In July 2015, representatives from the Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association ( Private Aircraft) Air traffic Controllers Association, American Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue Airlines, Southwest, Federal Express (FEDEX), New York Port Authority, the U.S Department of Defense, United Airlines & United Parcel Service (UPS) along with experts from the FAA who make up the Eastern Regional Task Group concluded in their final draft report that “the airspace structure is not aligned to the current demands of air transportation,safety nor capacity without significant investment in infrastructure and improvements in airspace structure.”

“A critical priority,” states the report,” is to address the estimated 40,000-70,000 additional overflights that will have to be accommodated through the increasingly crowded and complex Miami Oceanic Airspace (ZMA) Sectors 40 & 60 for new flights between U.S. And Cuba.”

Another seasoned industry source said that “I’m delighted that the PLP has stopped the FAA from charging Bahamian airlines to fly in our own nation. But it’s just typical for Bradley Roberts and Glenys Hanna Martin to be jumping up and down like they’ve just won the power-ball lottery when in reality they should have stopped the FAA charging our airlines - which everyone knew about in 2006 - not 11 years later,” he continued.

“To the best of my knowledge, we have never delegated the FAA with the authority to tax the citizens of our sovereign state; even going as far back as 1952 when the FAA was first delegated to provide air route traffic control services to our archipelago. In fact, when Sir Lynden Pindling stated his government’s acceptance of our succession to the Chicago Convention in 1975, there is no record of him ever delegating this responsibility either,” said the source.

“What I find unforgivable is that the PLP has allowed thousands of planes and ships belonging to ‘foreign carriers’ to transit our sovereign air-space and the seas of our sovereign nation for free since 1973. If this it how the PLP claims they’re ‘putting Bahamians first’ I want to be a foreigner from here on!” he remarked.

In contrast to the foot dragging of the Bahamas government, The Times of India reported that the International Airline Transportation Administration (IATA) estimates that airlines from British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air Asia, Ryan Air, Air France, Cathy Pacific, Emirates, Ethiad, Lufthansa, Jet Airways Caribbean Airlines, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Delta, American, United, Jet Blue, FedEX, UPS, China Airlines, China Southern Airlines and hundreds of others spend tens of billions on route navigation fees with 180 nations around the globe.

Robert Poole Jr., Director of Transportation Studies at the Reason Foundation, states in his report, - “Solving Air Traffic Control Funding Crisis” - that “The Bahamas is one of only 20 small and relatively poor countries in the world - Benin, Brunei, Comoros, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lesotho, Monaco, Namibia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu - that don’t charge for ATC services.”

Just how valuable could The Bahamas ATC overflight fees be? In order to arrive at a reasonable determination one must first recognize that the airspace and internal waters of our archipelagic state - beginning just offshore Miami & Ft. Lauderdale stretching for hundreds of miles to the tip of Cuba; East to Hispaniola bordering Puerto Rico airspace near Haiti & Dominican Republic; Northward up beyond Abaco to New York Oceanic airspace and finally West where it interfaces with the U.S. Domestic Airspace and the U.S. Air Interdict Defence Zone (AIDZ) just off the coast of Florida - straddle some of the most key air routes and sea lanes connecting The Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Central America, Mexico, Europe, Latin America to Miami and the southern U.S.

Secondly, let’s take a look at what other nations are charging with comparable levels of traffic. Take Sri Lanka, it says it will generate US $10m a year from the 100 fights that cross its territory each day; while Afghanistan says it will generates a respectable US$33m in over-flight fees.

Ukraine hit the jackpot after negotiating a revenue share deal. In its first year it netted more than US $200 million from the 150 flights that crossed its strategic airspace on the way to Asia each day. Before, that is, that air corridor was closed to all flights after the Malaysia flight disaster.

According to The Times of India, Iran’s corridor in the Middle East helps it generate a US$237 million a year from 350 daily flights which safely pass over its territory in the Middle East. By comparison, Ireland’s Aviation Authority, which handles 90% of the flights crossing the Atlantic, takes in an impressive US$173m a year from 900 aircraft which pass over this strategically located nation on their flights between Europe and the USA.

Pakistan was so upset when it discovered that top officials had failed to bill thousands of foreign carriers whose flights had been using its airspace since 2012, that it brought charges against its CAA for negligence.

Russia, on the other hand, seems to have its act together. EuroControl believes that Russia generates at least US$511m in over-flight fees from European long haul airlines using Siberia’s polar route on their way to Asia, which doesn’t include payments from Asian airlines flying to Europe.

And last, but by no means least, The Bahamas. With over a thousand flights crossing our territorial airspace each day and the FAA charging rates double that of Ireland’s Aviation Authority this must be a mind boggling figure. Yes it is! The Bahamas gets nothing. That’s because for the past five years our government has failed to conclude an agreement with the relevant US authorities on a proposal which has sat in limbo since 2006.

“WeMarch” co-founder, Mr. John Bostwick commented: “I don’t fault any government for delegating the FAA with responsibility to provide air route traffic control services to our nation.

“It’s such an immense, highly sophisticated and capital intensive undertaking, made even more so by the political ramifications and immense liability we would face if we ever made an inadvertent error.”

However, what concerned Mr Bostwick was “that the PLP appears to have sold the sovereign ownership of our nation’s airspace and internal waters to the Americans for free for decades. Who could be unable to reach a revenue share agreement when you’ve had the proposal lying on your desk for almost five years?” Mr Bostwick asked.