The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian aviation industry was yesterday branded “a rudderless big boat”, an airline executive warning that the sector and Family Island tourism cannot survive another three years without policy stability and reform.

Captain Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas’ chief executive, told Tribune Business that the absence of leadership and a strategic plan for aviation continued to impede its ability to enhance economic growth throughout the Bahamas.

Accusing the Government of “putting its head in the sand”, Captain Butler said Tribune Business’s revelations about the scale of investment necessary to bring Family Island airports into international regulatory compliance had “highlighted” an issue well-known to all in the aviation sector.

He added that this weakness, and numerous other aviation issues, remained “outstanding” just one week before US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors are due in the Bahamas to conduct their regular International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.

This assesses whether a country’s air carriers and aviation sector, particularly those that fly into the US, are in compliance with the global regulatory standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Pointing out that the Bahamas had previously fallen foul of the FAA in 2001, when the country was downgraded to ‘Category Two’ status, Captain Butler said this nation could ill-afford a negative IASA assessment.

Should this occur, he suggested it could deter US-based and international carriers from flying into the Bahamas, restricting airlift and visitor flows for the nation’s tourism industry.

While the Bahamas has passed legislation to transform the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) into a Civil Aviation Authority, and separate regulatory oversight from the sector’s operation, Captain Butler said the changes had yet to be fully implemented.

Suggesting that a Board and chairman for the new Authority were still in the process of being appointed, Captain Butler said: “The FAA are here next week doing an audit of the whole Bahamas, and we have all these aviation issues outstanding, which does not demonstrate strong political will.

“The Government needs to pay attention. I guess it’s election year, and they’re dealing with too many rats in the room, but they have to look at the whole picture.

“Family Island development, aviation is key to that. Connectivity, tourism, aviation is key to that. They’re allowing all these things to be out of control.”

Captain Butler warned that an adverse FAA report would represent “a further black eye” for a country already reeling from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) decision to cut this nation’s creditworthiness to ‘junk’ status.

Assessing the aviation industry’s current state, he told Tribune Business: “If you can imagine a big boat without a rudder, and add power to it, what does it do?

“The aviation industry is like the country; like a rudderless boat, and if you add power to it, it takes it nowhere no fast.

“We need to know who’s in charge, who’s leading, where are we going? No one’s answering that. Where is the plan? I’m in the industry, but how can I live day to day when I have to read about the policies in the papers?”

Captain Butler continued: “I don’t see aviation and tourism surviving another three years like this.

“If the Government does not take in hand the laws, policies and copies of the reports and audits, and does something with them, starting now, implementing them in the next 36 months, the economy of the Bahamas will not recover.”

Tribune Business on Wednesday revealed that Family Island airports need an immediate investment of $87 million to make them all compliant with ICAO’s international safety, security and regulatory standards.

The June 2016 report by ALG Transportation Infrastructure and Logistics warned that this outlay, together with a further $19 million in capital expenditure, was required within the next five years, meaning some $106 million in investment is needed by 2022.

In total, some $54 million worth of capital upgrades are required among the 28 Family Island airports by 2041, taking the total ICAO/investment spend to $141 million over a 25-year period.

“It speaks again to the need for a Strategic Aviation Plan, and has only highlighted what we all know,” Captain Butler said of the ALG report.

It is part of a $53.8 million joint venture by the Government and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that aims to bring the main Family Island airports - Marsh Harbour, Exuma and North Eleuthera - into compliance with ICAO standards, and enable them to cope with increased visitor volumes.

Captain Butler urged the Government to make firm policy decisions on which airports are to be designated ‘ports of entry’, and serve international flights with accompanying Customs and Immigration facilities.

“There’s no need for the Government to have three international airports in Eleuthera, and two within 25 minutes drive, and two minutes flight, in Abaco,” he explained.

“Make one of those an international airport, and bring it up to code, the others domestic feeder airports.”

The Sky Bahamas chief executive also suggested that the Government lease airports, such as San Salvador and Bimini, to the major developers on those islands. While the Government retained Customs, Immigration and licensing fees, the developers could retain all others.

Captain Butler also questioned whether the Government was making the correct decision in selecting North Eleuthera as the island’s international airport.

While this was likely based on its proximity to Harbour Island and Eleuthera’s key tourism locations, he pointed to the potential for future development at Cotton Bay and with the Sarmiento Four Seasons proposal.

Suggesting that an international airport at Governor’s Harbour would best suit these two developments if they moved forward, Captain Butler said: “We’re not looking at the Bahamas two to three generations down the road, and what the Bahamas should become.”