By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FEARS were mounting last night that Bahamas Customs’ decision to ban Abaco’s sole aviation freight provider from flying to the island will further setback the island’s post-Dorian recovery.

Furious Abaco residents told Tribune Business that blocking Abaco Freight’s regular flights was the latest example of bureaucratic red tape undermining restoration efforts, with Customs demanding that its local agent both pay a bond and go to Nassau to train on the new Click2Clear electronic goods clearance system before it can return.

Kimber Mazzeo, Abaco Freight’s West Palm Beach-based principal, warned that the ever-growing freight backlog - now standing at three to four plane loads - threatened to delay the planned March 4 re-opening of one of the island’s major resorts.

She told this newspaper that the flight ban had prevented the delivery of water pumps and other critical equipment essential for the Abaco Beach Resort to resume operations, and pleaded for “leniency”

to be shown by the Government given the island’s ongoing plight and the absence of Customs brokers to assist.

Several Abaco residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, voiced dismay at the flight ban because Abaco Freight had been a lifeline in bringing in essential supplies - including medication - while the island seeks to rebound some five-and-a-half months post-Dorian.

One source said they had relied on the company to obtain medicine for them in the US and fly it into Abaco - something it has been unable to do since late last week. “Today I could not get blood pressure medication at the Government clinic or the pharmacy,” they said. “We were relying on them to get the prescriptions in the US and bring them in. “This is pretty serious. There’s an awful lot of very upset people here, an awful lot, particularly the ones that do not have their medication..... Right now they are the only air freight service into the island other than the non-governmental organisations, and they operate under different conditions.

“The Government is not doing what they said they would do to assist Abaco. It’s not happening. They’re hampering recovery by these stupid little actions.”

Ms Mazzeo told Tribune Business she had spent 12 years prior to Dorian as the US-based representative for Cherokee Air, another commercial aviation freight company that worked the Abaco route. However, that company suffered “so much damage” to its facilities from the Category Five storm that it failed to renew its Customs bond.

The extent of the property damage in Marsh Harbour also meant there was nowhere suitable for a bonded warehouse that could house imported goods prior to their clearance, but Ms Mazzeo said she had continued freight flights to Abaco post-Dorian via a plane chartered from US-based Tropic Air Charters.

Working with Tammy Albury as her Abaco-based representative, and who had obtained a Business License for The Freight Place, Ms Mazzeo said freight flights had been going into the island three-four times per week post-Dorian with “tons of donations on top of normal freight”.

However, she revealed that the problems with Customs began after the agency decided to implement its Electronic Single Window (ESW) good clearance system in Abaco for the first time since Dorian struck in early December 2019.

“They’re trying to implement it again, and a lot of people don’t know how to work it,” Ms Mazzeo told Tribune Business. “Everything was working out fine until last Thursday when they stopped my plane. I had a Business License and all my paperwork was in order.

“They [Customs] told me I had to get a courier licence. I’ve already been approved for my Business Licence, and I did the courier licence, but now they’re telling me to get a bond. That’s a three to six-week window. They also want someone to go to Nassau and take a class on Click2Clear. It means I have to send someone to Nassau.

“There was no notice given whatsoever, and they’ve stopped the plane going in. I’m completely backed up with freight. I have three to four plane loads, and now they’re telling me don’t come back. I don’t know what to do. My customers are saying bring in the stuff, we’ll pick it up from the airport, but Customs are telling me not to fly in at all.”

Describing this as a “bad” outcome for herself and Abaco, which is “not going to have a good impact for anyone”, Ms Mazzeo warned that major resorts were likely to miss planned opening dates if Customs did not relent.

“I have a lot of major resorts depending on us to take in freight,” she told Tribune Business. “Right now, the Abaco Beach Resort is looking to re-open on March 4 and needs to get all their stuff in place. We have all their water pumps here.

“We have a lot of necessary parts, particularly for the fuel truck that served Cherokee Air, and Mr McDonald of the Fire Department is waiting on that. I’m not sure where to go from here, but if I get the word out hopefully it might get me in the right hands. I’m looking for a little bit of leniency until we get the logistics covered.”

Ms Mazzeo, in an e-mail yesterday to major Abaco resorts, said: “I am reaching out to you to inform you that I will not be able to send your freight this week, and I’m wondering if you may be able to guide me in the right direction......

“We had a very good system going until last week when Customs implemented the Click2Clear system. At this time there are not many people on the island who know how to operate the system, and we are also having a hard time finding reliable brokers. We are happy to pay any fees associated with the freight we are bringing in.

“At this time it is my understanding that Tammy needs a courier license and to pay bond out of Nassau. We are also happy to do this. Unfortunately, this process is going to take three to six weeks. At this time I have three plane loads of freight. Abaco Beach Resort is trying to open on March 4, and I have a lot of the things needed to make that happen,” she added.

“The fire department has a ton of stuff here as well. I am one of the only freight services that fly directly into Marsh Harbour and I really don’t want to give up. We are currently providing jobs for four Bahamians in need. We are also now being told we cannot send any donations unless they are cleared prior by a Bahamian NGO.

“What I am asking for is guidance to get Tammy and I on the right path and/or a three to six-week grace period for our flights to continue. Every flight coming in will have all of the proper paperwork, every customer will be prepared to pay any fees associated.”

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, told Tribune Business he was unaware of the issues related to Abaco Freight and referred this newspaper to Customs comptroller, Dr Geannine Moss. She could not be reached for comment last night despite several calls and messages being left.

Ken Hutton, the Abaco Chamber of Commerce’s president, said he, too, was not familiar with the situation.