The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The government was yesterday urged to "bite the bullet" and move rapidly to acquire the Grand Bahama International Airport, with a prominent hotelier blasting: "Enough is enough."

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort's general manager, voiced fears to Tribune Business that last week's termination of 11 airport staff showed there was "absolutely no commitment by the owners" to improve conditions at the Dorian-devastated facility let alone invest the minimum $40m deemed necessary to rebuild it.

Suggesting that it almost appeared as if the airport's current owners, Hutchison Whampoa and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), had "given up", Mr Alnebeck said the only positive effect from the redundancies may be to "speed up" the government's previously-announced interest in acquiring the asset.

His concerns were echoed by Carey Leonard, the former GBPA in-house attorney, who told this newspaper that the situation "will only become worse and more expensive for the country" the longer the government takes to act.

He argued that the GBPA's owners, the Hayward and St George families, were "equally as responsible if not more" for the failure to start serious rebuilding at the airport given their quasi-governmental and development obligations to Freeport residents and businesses. Tribune Business was yesterday told that the GBPA will release a statement on the airport later this week.

Meanwhile, both Messrs Alnebeck and Leonard voiced concerns that the airport redundancies were "Hutchison's way of negotiating with the government" as it sought to "ratchet up the pressure" to achieve the exit price and terms it wanted.

The duo added that this strategy had succeeded with the Grand Lucayan, but Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, earlier this week argued that the lay-offs were likely a prudent business move to better align the airport's cost base to its reduced income as a result of the dramatic fall-off in aviation traffic post-Dorian.

However, Mr Alnebeck, while describing the airport job losses as "extremely sad", argued: "It shows there really is no commitment by the owners of the airport to improve things. It's almost like they've given up. I hope there are some serious conversations going on in the background, and the Government is saying: 'Enough is enough'.

"Hopefully it will speed up the Government needing to deal with this. It can't continue like this. We can't have Grand Bahama without an airport, and that's what it looks like at the moment. What I understand is that when there are two to three flights on the ground at the same time, this temporary like-barracks [terminal] is incapable of dealing with it."

Mr Alnebeck said the airport was using the old Fixed Base Operator (FBO) location to accommodate passengers post-Dorian, yet the hurricane-devastated domestic and international terminals have yet to be cleaned.

He contrasted the Grand Bahama Airport Company's efforts with the "fantastic job" Western Air has done, arguing that the latter's passenger accommodation was "much better" than that provided by the Hutchison/GBPA owned entity.

The Pelican Bay chief's concerns were aired on the same day that the Grand Bahama Island Tourist Board issued a six-page press statement designed to highlight the island's post-Dorian progress, with 1,416 rooms - some 85 percent of the island's total inventory - said to be available as at January 7, 2020.

Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Resort's re-opening on December 10, with newly-renovated rooms comprising more than 50 percent of its inventory, was highlighted together with awards and recognition for the likes of UNEXSO and the Flying Fish restaurant. Also nominated for awards were two of the island's beaches, plus Tony Macaroni's Conch Experience and Banana Bay Restaurant & Bar.

There was no mention, though, of the airport's current status even though it represents the main gateway by which stopover tourists access Grand Bahama and is arguably the most vital infrastructure asset for sustaining the island's industrial sector and rest of its economy.

Mr Alnebeck said present conditions were a deterrent both for airlines and investors, and he revealed to Tribune Business that he, too, had been informed that the ITM/Royal Caribbean joint venture were seeking a guarantee from the Government that the airport will be restored to international standards by the time their $275m project is ready to launch following 24 months of operation.

"You can book American Airlines from February 13 but, as I understand it, they've given a list of things they want addressed before they will start again," he told Tribune Business. "They've been over two to three times and seen those things have not been done. Let's hope they do come back on that date.

"An investor today looking at investing in Grand Bahama, and who sits down and spends 30 minutes Googling what is going on in the destination, is not exactly going to get any level of confidence. We don't really show that we have things together. It's been about five months after the hurricane, and we can't get the airport running."

Questioning whether that had happened anywhere else in the region, Mr Alnebeck said the likes of Dominica and Haiti had managed to re-establish aviation links and repair their airports much quicker in the aftermath of major storms.

"It's very sad that countries with limited capacity can do a better job than Hutchison and the GBPA," he added. "An airport is really and essential service for the island. How are people going to come here? A lot of people say we need a hospital. Yes, we do, but how will technicians come to install x-ray machines if we don't have a functioning airport?"

Noting the absence of any official statement on plans to rebuild the airport, Mr Alnebeck expressed concerns that last week's terminations could be a tactic by Hutchison to force the Government's hand. "They haven't declared the airport is for sale, but it's a good way of forcing them [the Government] to pay extra to get them out of there," he added.

"It worked very well at the Grand Lucayan. After two years the Government eventually bought it for the asking price." John Pinder, the director of labour, and union officials representing the affected workers, have both suggested the 11 lay-offs could be the first wave of staged redundancies that could result in the 100-strong staff's termination.

Mr Alnebeck's concerns were yesterday repeated by Mr Leonard, who told Tribune Business: "I think Hutchison is doing the usual thing. They are ratcheting up the pressure on the Government. The longer the Government waits, the worse the situation is going to get and the more expensive it's going to be for the country.

"What they're doing, just as they did with the hotel, is they're going to the insurance money, pull out and not put in more money. They've made it clear they're not going to do anything, and the sooner we cat the better.

"Obviously the St Georges and Haywards are not going to do anything either. They are one half of the ownership and are equally as responsible, if not more, because they're the regulator. Hutchison is doing what it usually does, and the Government is going to have to bite the bullet, take the harbour and the airport and be done with it because the situation is only going to get worse not better."

Multiple government ministers have voiced their unhappiness with the apparent lack of progress towards restoring Grand Bahama's airport. The facility is owned by Hutchison and the GBPA families through the Freeport Harbour Company, and Mr Leonard warned it would be "financial suicide" not to acquire this with the airport due to the latter's unprofitability.

Taking both would give the Government "control of the points of entry" on Grand Bahama, and Mr Leonard added: "It is clear the Haywards and St Georges don't know what they're doing, and Hutchison's interest is to get out.

"I do believe the Government can make it work, but they have to act and they have to act now to take both the harbour and the airport. If the Government takes control of that infrastructure, it will find itself in a much stronger and more able position to make Freeport's economy work."