The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

BIMINI residents who travel to New Providence for medical treatment are worried about increased passenger facility fees, which are compounding their stress and financial challenges.

Since the start of this month, the fees there have been over $50.

The Tribune previously reported that the fees were expected to rise to $43 per person to finance the $263m redevelopment of 14 Family Island airports.

It is expected that by 2025, people travelling throughout The Bahamas will pay $43 in user fees, though, at the start of this month, Bimini residents have to pay over $50 in user fees without the option of phased-in rises.

Ursula Roker, mother of 30-year-old Justin Roker, who has been diagnosed with severe autism, a seizure disorder, and scoliosis, said she and her son travel to New Providence health facilities to manage his health conditions.

She said her son must take anti-seizure medicine daily, and the prescription must be refilled every month. She said her son had two seizures last month, which resulted in her paying $600 for two airline tickets.

She said her family must pay about $1000 to travel to New Providence for blood work.

“Anything can cause a seizure,” she said, “a drop in his appetite, stress which he can’t convey, a cold, anything that throws his metabolism off.”

She said increased fees add $100 to the costs, though she is fortunate that her Bimini community is supportive, so she does not worry that she will not be able to travel someday.

Desney Saunders, who runs a straw vendor business, said she must travel to New Providence every three weeks for medical treatment, with travel and accommodation costing her over $500 every time.

“If you don’t have no money, you messed,” she said. “If you don’t have nobody to help you, you messed. Some people die because they don’t have any help,”

“So far, so good, I have people that would help me and my family, but other than that, some people just need help,” she said, adding that increased airport fees are burdensome.

Ms Roker said the Ministry of Social Services, through its Disabilities Affairs Division, previously said it would provide financial aid for her travel, but she was recently told the division is “out of the budget” and doesn’t expect funds to be available until the end of July.

Southern Air’s director of administration and president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, Anthony Hamilton, told The Tribune last year that he expects inter-island travel to “dry up” because of airlines having to raise user fees.

Tourism Minister Chester Cooper has said a regional study on airport fees is underway to ensure the country is competitive.