The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

The Grand Lucayan's potential sale makes it critical there is "only a small lull" in restoring Grand Bahama International Airport to full operational health, the prime minister says.

Dr Hubert A Minnis, speaking after the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association's (BHTA) annual general meeting on Friday, voiced optimism that Bahamasair will be able to restart international flights into Grand Bahama this Wednesday.

This, though, is dependent on the airport's temporary facilities and modules receiving the regulatory all-clear from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The latter is due to arrive in Freeport tomorrow to determine whether its security measures/systems and other essential functions are up to acceptable international standards.

The prime minister, meanwhile, acknowledged that reopening Grand Bahama International Airport to international airlift is vital to bringing the Grand Lucayan deal and other major developments out of the foreign direct investment (FDI) pipeline and into reality.

"The Grand Lucayan, as you know, there have been discussions going on with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) and, I think the ITM Group," Dr Minnis said. "They should be coming to a resolution very quickly, and they're working as aggressively and as quickly as possible, but we have been affected by the hurricane.

"Therefore, it's essential as the hotel (Grand Lucayan) comes on stream, you will only have a small lull in terms of getting the airport back to normal. So the government is presently in discussion with the owners of the airport - the Port Authority and Hutchison- because it is essential that the airport open as quickly as possible."

International airlift is critical to the $275m Holistica joint venture between Royal Caribbean and ITM Group, which involves a first phase investment of $195m (inclusive of the purchase price), in transforming both the Grand Lucayan and Freeport harbour into a destination experience that will attract two million extra cruise ship passengers to Grand Bahama as well as stopover visitors.

The $100m Carnival cruise port, as well as the Freeport industrial sector and wider Grand Bahama economy, also rely heavily on the airport for international connectivity and to ensure their business model works.

Dr Minnis, though, said the government was "comfortable with the progression" in restoring Grand Bahama International Airport. "I have been informed you would have modules at this particular point in time to get the airport open," he said. "Those modules will be first-class with all the different amenities - seating arrangements, bathroom facilities, ticketing counters for both international as well as domestic flights.

"We would not have the US pre-clearance at this particular time point in time. As you know that has been destroyed, and that calls for more engagement. The Bahamsair domestic flights should be flying into the new airport facility, the modules, on Saturday, and with the TSA, my understanding is they will be flying into Grand Bahama on Tuesday where they do their assessment and, once that is approved, then the Bahamsair's international flight will be flying in on Wednesday.

"And the minister of tourism is aggressively in discussion with the international airlines, American and others, to see when they would come on board." Dr Minnis also confirmed that TSA officials will be conducting a similar inspection of Abaco's Leonard Thompson International Airport and, if all goes well, the first international Bahamasair flight to that island will take place on Saturday.

Magnus Alnebeck, general manager of Freeport's Pelican Bay resort, branded the prime minister's comments on Grand Bahama International Airport's potential re-opening as "great news" and "fantastic".

"I just hope that it happens and see what the scheduled airlift is coming back," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that the pre-clearance won't be coming back to the Grand Bahama airport. But at least we get some flights coming back, hopefully, and that will help a lot. Let's just hope we pass the TSA inspections this week Tuesday."

Mr Alnebeck, along with several other prominent business persons in Grand Bahama, has been urging the government to purchase Grand Bahama's airport. He argued that Hutchison Whampoa had shown little interest in the asset prior to selling the Grand Lucayan to the government in September 2018.

The Pelican Bay chief said the Hong Kong-based conglomerate's decision to exit the hotel's ownership meant it had even less "incentive" to maintain "an airport that works".