The Tribune

* Aviation lawyer: 'Time of the essence'

* Legislative reform is 'Herculean task'

* But backs Gov't proposals as 'spot on'

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An aviation law specialist says The Bahamas must double its safety and regulatory audit score to achieve "a brighter future" and be treated as a serious international player in the sector.

Llewelyn Boyer-Cartwright, who left Callenders & Co to found his own law firm, Harley James, told Tribune Business that this nation "won't get anywhere" in developing its aviation industry to its true potential unless it dramatically improves the rock-bottom score it received on its last International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit.

Branding aviation sector reform "a Herculean task", Mr Boyer-Cartwright said the Government was "spot on" with the three-strong Bill package it hopes to present to the House of Assembly early in 2021, but he warned: "Time is of the essence."

With ICAO examiners due to reassess The Bahamas in November 2021, he argued it was critical that the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) be given every day possible to demonstrate it has implemented the new Bills and thereby addressed deficiencies that saw just this nation score just 32 percent on “critical elements of a safety oversight system”.

Noting that the BCAA's own advisers were confident that score can be doubled, or improved 100 percent, this time around, Mr Boyer-Cartwright told this newspaper: "It's paramount. It's critical. I can't imagine that we would get anywhere, or anyone pay attention to us, without at least a rating in the 60s or higher.

"To think our last audit was at 32..... The Aviation Registry Group (ARG), which was brought in to ensure that was addressed, they are confident that can be achieved - that we can double that or more. We have to be dedicated and committed to seeing that happen. It's making sure the Authority is engaged and the staff are motivated, as it will be a brighter future for them and everyone.

"Time is of the essence. You're talking now of an audit that is less than 11 months away, and look where we are. We have to move as swiftly as we can. This pandemic, if you want to look for a silver lining, the slow down in the industry and everything else is an opportunity for us to take care of a lot of house keeping items without a lot of distractions."

Mr Boyer-Cartwright suggested that aviation was one sector that held near-term economic diversification potential for The Bahamas in COVID-19's wake, but he warned that developing a world-class aircraft registry - as multiple administrations have been keen to do - and exploiting other job and revenue-earning opportunities will be impossible without a much-improved ICAO evaluation.

"There's still a lot of work ahead, but again it's all there for the taking," he said. "It's not as if this is a new invention. It's not novel; it might be novel for The Bahamas, but not for other countries. I'm so happy they're [the Government] giving it the attention it deserves.

"Once that [COVID-19] vaccine becomes available to the general public things will be moving after that in terms of travel. It's the panacea that everyone's waiting for. I look at it as creating a brighter future for the aviation sector in the country."

The last ICAO report, following an assessment in 2017, revealed that The Bahamas had only properly implemented 32 percent of the “critical elements of a safety oversight system” for the aviation industry, with deficiencies found in all eight key areas.

The report, which effectively “downgraded” The Bahamas from 56.98 percent compliance pre-audit, found it had implemented just 2.5 percent of its aviation industry “surveillance”, and 15.97 percent of its “licensing, certification and authorisation” obligations.

Similar low scores were achieved on the “resolution of safety issues”, where The Bahamas was found by ICAO’s team to be just 11.76 percent compliant, and on “qualified technical personnel”, where it gained a 36 percent ranking.

It fared better on the quality of its aviation legislation and “state systems and functions”, which both scored in the 50 percent range, and achieved its highest compliance rating of 61.06 percent for “specific operating regulations”.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told this newspaper last week that the revised Civil Aviation Bill, as well as the Bahamas Air Navigation Services (BANS) Authority Bill, which attempts to further separate regulator and operations by breaking out the air traffic controllers from the Civil Aviation Department and Authority, plus the Civil Aviation Authority Bill were vital to an improved score.

Voicing his support for the Government's plans, Mr Boyer-Cartwright said he had been urging the last Christie administration as well as the current government that it had to "lay the foundation with new legislation to accommodate an aircraft registry that meets ICAO and global standards".

Acknowledging that The Bahamas becoming a signatory to the Cape Town Treaty (Aircraft Convention), which gives financiers and leasing companies security that their liens and charges over planes - and plane parts - are recognised wherever the aircraft was in the world, was also critical to developing a registry, he argued that this could be done in parallel with legal reforms.

"It's certainly what's required to back a first class aircraft registry to compete with other jurisdictions," Mr Boyer-Cartwright said, noting that the likes of the Isle of Man generated millions of dollars per year in revenues for their tax authorities.

"The Civil Aviation Act of 2016 had everything pretty much bundled into it. You had both the regulatory and the oversight all meshed into one, and that can blur the lines if you will. The last audit took place when the Authority was in its infancy and the legislation was in its infancy, and that's why I agree the sooner we get this past the better the because the Authority can get on with things to better demonstrate how the new legislation has been implemented and our effectiveness in terms of dealing with those areas where we had deficiencies on the last audit."

Mr Boyer-Cartwright added that the Civil Aviation Authority Bill created a clear "separation of powers" while also enabling its director-general, currently Michael Allen, to make changes to regulations that will keep The Bahamas in compliance with ever-evolving global standards without having to go back to Parliament all the time.

"It's time consuming and lengthy," he said, "and aviation is a very dynamic industry that is constantly changing. It requires swift action without any inordinate delays to be effective."

The Bahamas Air Navigation Services (BANS) Authority Bill, Mr Boyer-Cartwright added, would also separate air traffic control as an independent body with the ability to charge fees for its services, thereby "adding another source of revenue to the aviation sector without adding to the burden on the public purse". The proposed fees have not yet been released.