The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamas Flying Ambassador says he “cannot continue to say with a straight face that you are the world’s best private pilot destination” given recent fee hikes, their structure and how they were implemented.

Rick Gardner, director of CST Flight Services, which provides flight co-ordination and trip support services to the private aviation industry, told Tribune Business that recent Customs fee and other increases, as well as developments such as the newly-unveiled schedule of charges by Bimini airport’s new private operator, have “tipped the playing field in favour” of rival destinations.

Acknowledging that The Bahamas has a sovereign right to adjust taxes and fees as it sees fit, he nevertheless said all he and others are trying to do is warn that this will “hurt your people” with the Bahamian economy - especially in the Family Islands - likely to be what “pays the price” from deterring high-spending private pilots and their guests from visiting this nation. 

Disclosing the overwhelmingly negative reaction from the general aviation community, after CST Flight Services posted the Customs fee increases and new Bimini airport schedule online on June 26, 2024, Mr Gardner told this newspaper he assembled the comments and other information before sending this to the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation for the first time on September 18.

However, it was only at the third attempt, on October 12, 2024, that his communication received a response that it had “been forwarded” on. Private pilots had responded to CST Flight Services’ post with comments such as: “Have been to the Out Islands 15 times and was thinking of making another trip next year. If these fees do kick in then I am done” or “at these prices we may as well go to the Turks & Caicos”.

Mr Gardner also disclosed that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), which represents between 300,000 to 400,000 private plane owners and pilots worldwide, has received no response to its ‘travel advisory’ on The Bahamas and call for this nation to alter course on the Customs fee increases implemented on July 1, 2024, as part of the 2024-2025 Budget.

“The Bahamas is a sovereign country, they can do whatever they wish, but I cannot continue to say it is the best destination for general aviation in the world. I cannot say that with a straight face,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s a good one, but there are other goods ones. Cost wise, Turks & Caicos looks really good, and the Dominican Republic looks even better......

“The Bahamas is not in a vacuum. The Bahamas is in a competitive global general aviation marketplace that other people want a piece of, and they’ve tipped the field in their favour. The Bahamas has enjoyed a privileged reputation in the industry for many decades after a lot of effort, primarily by tourism and people in the industry and AOPA.

“Now, like any sovereign nation, the Government can do what they think is right but we’re trying to explain that may be they are not aware of the repercussions of what they’re doing. Many of us who have been staunch supporters of The Bahamas have been looking pretty stupid and having to answer pretty difficult questions from pilots that we cannot answer.”

The Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024, which come into effect on July 1 to coincide with the Budget’s passage and start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, changed the aircraft inbound and outbound fee structure such that a private plane with more than four seats will pay three times’ what a regularly scheduled commercial jet does.

Under the new fee structure, commercial jets pay a $50 “inbound” and $50 “outbound” fee for a total of $100. However, a private plane with four seats or less “including all seats in the cabin” is now faced with paying $75 each way for a total of $150.

Mr Gardner said himself and other Bahamas Flying Ambassadors “cannot answer that, cannot justify it” as to why a Boeing 737 commercial airliner is having to pay a lower fee than a Cessna 182. Commercial jets are paying $100, but private aircraft with more than four seats “including all seats in the cabin” now face having to pay $150 “inbound” and “outbound” fees to Customs for a total $300.

So-called “recreational” flights only pay $150 “inbound”, but cargo flights will see a $150 fee levied on both “inbound” and “outbound” trips involving The Bahamas. The definition of what constitutes a “recreational flight” has also caused more private pilot uncertainty.

“All of us who have put our reputation on the line for the country, we’re going to have to take a step back,” Mr Gardner added. “What we’re trying to say is it’s hurting your people. The Bahamian economy is the one that pays the price.

“The ultimate losers in this, in my opinion, are the hard-working Bahamians that depend on tourism, most especially those that live and work on the Family Islands and have limited or no commercial airline service. The taxi drivers, the fishermen, the scuba divers. They are the ones that will pay dearly for it.”

The feedback gathered by Mr Gardner and CST Flight Services from private pilots to the fee increases was instant and, in some cases, harsh. Amid the comments, which were shared with the Ministry of Tourism and Bahamian authorities, one pilot posted: “The fees are going through the roof and the Government just keeps sucking the life/money out of Bahamians and the tourist.

“I was dropped off in Marsh Harbor at the FBO (fixed base operation) Cherokee, and it was over $550 in fee’s. Plane was on the ramp for less than 30 minutes. And the Government left Marsh Harbour for dead after the hurricane. Not one thing on the field has been improved since the storm.”

Another added: “Wish I had seen this thread before coming. I’m in Treasure Cay right now and was surprised by the $150 fee. Not cool to spring that on us with one week’s notice.” To which one pilot replied: “Sure makes the Florida Keys look better. No Customs sticker and no passport”, while another added: “Plan on it... letting them know they won’t be seeing me. Started flying the Bahamas in 1982. Glad to have the memories.”

Other comments were blunter. One pilot said: “For me if I’m going to travel I prefer to go somewhere my money goes further, Mexico, Thailand and so on. Bahamas was always a bit overpriced for how dirty and lowish quality attractions; not somewhere I go unless it’s part of a work trip. Compared to other locations, it just feels like a bad middle ground between conscience and all of the islands in Florida versus the economy of Mexico.”

Another added: “This policy will hurt the Out Islands the most; the ones who can least afford. We pilots know that is where the beauty lies of The Bahamas. I go once a year, sometimes twice a year but this will slow me down big time.” 

This sentiment was echoed by other pilots, who told CST: “Have been to the Out Islands 15 times, and was thinking of making another trip next year. If these fees do kick in then I am done. Same reason why I do not go to Mexico.

“The general aviation traffic in the Out Islands has dropped off significantly over the last ten years. Residents on the Out Islands have always been really appreciative of the dollars we spend as there is little to no industry on the islands. This will kill the golden goose.”

Others agreed, with one saying: “With these significantly higher fees coming our Bahamas days are probably over...” Another added: “I would rather spend my time in the Keys and pay their ramp fees than get fleeced in The Bahamas. Granted, while I do enjoy The Bahamas, Key West and Marathon are just as nice.” One of their colleagues said: “Getting dollar hammered takes the fun out of the trip.”l

The Government, though, has frequently defended the increases in Customs fees and airport charges as consistent with international best practices and standards, which typically see the users of airport infrastructure pay towards its upkeep and maintenance. It has also argued that many of these fees and charges have not been adjusted for years, decades even, and now need to reflect the cost of providing services.

The Government likely perceives the private pilot/aviation industry as having deep pockets, viewing private plane ownership and use as a sign of wealth, and able to easily absorb the fee increases laid out in the Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024. They also include a $2,500 fee that will be levied if an aircraft declaration is submitted less than one hour before the plane arrives in The Bahamas.

Thus far, the Davis administration has stuck to its position that the private aviation industry and pilots must “pay their fair share of taxes”, and help finance upkeep of the airport facilities they use, while arguing that there is no justification for the “uproar” over fees that are no higher than $300.

However, Mr Gardner and others have frequently warned that private aviation is a fickle market where plane owners, private pilots and other participants tend to react negatively if they feel they are being exploited, targeted or taken advantage of because they are perceived as rich.

And they simply have the ability to fly elsewhere to lower-cost stopover destinations such as the Dominican Republic, which offsets higher fuel prices. The industry also felt blindsided by the lack of warning over the planned fee increase, and bewildered by a structure that leaves commercial airlines paying lower charges than many of them.

Private pilots also argued they have seen no prior evidence of higher fees, such as the $29 per head departure tax and now $2 tourism enhancement levy, being used to fund airport and aviation infrastructure improvements. And, given that they only require pothole-free runways and the ability to land, they argue that it should only be commercial airlines that finance the terminal upgrades sought by the Government.

Jim Parker, of Caribbean Flying Adventures, told Tribune Business that he had been informed by a tourism official - who he declined to identify - that the increased Customs fees were going into the Government’s consolidated fund rather than specifically funding airport improvements.

He argued that while tripling Customs fees for private planes with four seats or less to $150 may generate an additional $100 per aircraft, this would be offset “20 times” through the loss of visitor spending from each plane that decides to no longer visit The Bahamas, which he estimated at around $2,000 per plane.

“Last week I spoke with a Bahamas tourism official who confirmed that the $100 increase for private aircraft to arrive in The Bahamas, from $50 to $150, is going into the general fund, not the airport improvement fund,” Mr Parker said.

“So, it seems for those of us bringing thousands of dollars on each of our trips to The Bahamas, contributing to the tourist economy as well as government tax revenues, that we are not contributing to airport improvement but instead paying an additional $100 to the general fund to help pay for government salaries and paper clips.”

Acknowledging that all countries have a sovereign right to choose how they finance airport upgrades, Mr Parker said most other nations placed much of the burden for this on commercial airlines rather than general aviation. “They don’t shoot themselves in the foot by scaring away private planes,” he told Tribune Business.

“One plane shows up and pays the extra $100; if one doesn’t show up it negates that extra Customs fee by a factor of 20. You can easily check the regulations and see there’s no law or regulation passed for that extra $100 to have anything to do with airport improvements. I don’t know what Customs use it for. No other country asks private pilots coming in for tourism to contribute to general operating expenses. They pay airport fees.”

Mr Parker added: “Airport improvement or security fees – for the airlines, not the small family-owned private aircraft – I can understand. It is done all over the world. Demanding private pilots pay money to The Bahamas to operate basic government services is not done elsewhere in the world and will most likely lead to a sharp decline in arrivals by private aircraft for tourism.

“Does this increase to $150 help or hurt The Bahamas’ economy? The answer is it hurts the economy. It may add $100 more to the general fund but it takes away 20 times that amount from the economy. For the one plane that continues to come to The Bahamas, there is an additional $100 for the general fund.

“For the many planes that opt to take their tourism dollars to the Florida Keys, or the Cayman Islands or the Dominican Republic, each plane that does not come to The Bahamas will cost the economy at least $2,000, completely offsetting the $100 gain in fees by a factor of 20,” he added.

“For every private plane that boycotts The Bahamas, it cancels out the increase in fees paid by 20 aircraft that do arrive. This hurts hotels, resorts, restaurants, local businesses and reduces government tax revenues. This is a policy that hurts the tourism sector and loses government revenue rather than increases revenue. It needs to be reconsidered.”