By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Travellers have been told to arrive early at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) because there is insufficient manpower at US pre-clearance to process them “seamlessly”, it was revealed yesterday.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business the situation was “frustrating” because it threatened to impact the visitor experience and final impressions of The Bahamas before they boarded the flight home.

Arguing that it was The Bahamas’ reputation that will suffer, and not that of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), he added that the Government had made the US Embassy “aware of the situation but it doesn’t seem as if they can respond that readily to it”.

Speaking after LPIA’s operator, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), yesterday urged air travellers to arrive between three to three-and-a-half hours ahead of their flight at weekends, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper: “LPIA does not have sufficient officers to make it a seamless process.

“There are insufficient officers to process on a regular basis the number of people going through the US pre-clearance. That is why we’ve had to issue these travel advisories for persons to get to the airport in sufficient time. We’ve been assured that in a timely manner, within the next 60 plus days, they’ll be bringing more officers on stream but it takes time for them to ramp back up.

“It is frustrating. It doesn’t create for the ideal visitor environment. We really need for them to ramp that up,” Mr D’Aguilar continued. “We’ve spoken to the US embassy and made them aware of this problem. It doesn’t seem as if they can respond that readily to it. It’s a problem. That’s why LPIA issued the travel advisory.

“It’s the last experience you have of the destination, so it’s very important we fix this problem as quickly as possible.” He added that any reputational damage or fall-out would be felt by the destination, meaning The Bahamas and Nassau, rather than US Customs and Border Protection if passengers were waiting hours to pre-clear.

Mr D’Aguilar said NAD had taken measures to ensure passenger traffic will “flow” through US pre-clearance, and was “creating somewhere where people will be exposed to arts, souveniurs and other Bahamian products”.

“They’re trying to create a venue where passengers are comfortable waiting and have something to do,” he added. NAD is encouraging Bahamians and residents to avoid weekend air travel if possible, and choose another day to fly, so as to avoid the build-up of cruise and stopover tourist passengers on Saturday and Sunday.

If you do have to travel at the weekend, it is encouraging persons to seek flights either before 9am or after 2pm to escape peak travel time. Travellers heading to the US on weekends are being urged to arrive some three to three-and-a-half hours ahead of their flight’s scheduled departure to allow for increased volumes and COVID-19 protocols.

LPIA is forecast to be processing an extra 8,000 passengers every weekend this summer due to the start of cruise home porting and the post-COVID tourism revival.

NAD, in a statement unveiling its summer 2021 operational plan, said it had devised a mechanism to process air travellers safely and efficiently amid growing passenger traffic and COVID-19 protocols.

It added that 900 cruise ship passengers will be departing Nassau for the US on Saturday, June 19, following the end of their week-long cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas.

Those numbers will expand when Crystal Cruises begins home porting on July 3, and NAD said it anticipates heavy cruise passenger arrivals and departures every Saturday and Sunday for several months. It is forecasting that the numbers will grow to 3,500 passengers each weekend by July.

Meanwhile, LPIA’s summer projections for land-based passenger arrivals and departures indicates a steady recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential additional 4,500 passengers processed between Saturday and Sunday every weekend.

“We are fortunate that our largest source market, the United States, has been very successful with their vaccine distribution, and there is significant pent-up demand for travel given the challenges and restrictions of the past year living with COVID-19. People are ready to travel and, month by month, we are seeing improvements in our passenger numbers.” said Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive.

“During this busy summer travel period we wish to assure the travelling public that their safety is our paramount concern. Our overall objective is to make certain that a high level of efficiency prevails in the terminals coupled with excellent customer service, resulting in a positive experience for our passengers.”