By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Minister of Tourism and Aviation yesterday said the Government is "aggressively" moving to establish Bahamian airspace via a Flight Information Region (FIR).

The former Christie administration last January hailed as a "landmark accomplishment" its agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will result in Bahamian aircraft operators no longer having to pay overflight fees to the US for domestic flights.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, though, said the previous government's achievement was not as big as it had been made out to be.

"I don't know what their landmark airspace deal was. All they did was get a concession for Bahamian airline companies to fly through Bahamian airspace and not pay a fee to do so," he argued. "The Government is very aggressively pursuing the establishment of what is the Bahamian airspace, and I'm hoping that in the next six months we can be in a position where we can say this is our airspace.

"We can also hopefully begin the process of earning revenue from it, and also putting in a safety regime so that over time we can take control of our airspace and hire Bahamians to manage it.

"Right now the vast majority of our airspace is being managed by the Federal Aviation Administration. It's a tedious and tiresome process, but I think we are close."

Under international laws, countries require airlines and other aircraft to pay a fee for the right to fly over their airspace.

The administration of those rights in the Bahamas has been performed by the FAA since 1952, meaning Bahamasair and other Bahamian-owned carriers have had to pay the US for the privilege of flying over their own country.