By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper has condemned the “deplorable” working conditions of airport employees at the Grand Bahama International Airport, promising to seek support from Cabinet to allow some temporary “fixes” at the facility.

He indicated immediate short-term fixes are needed to bring relief to the operations at the airport in Freeport which was devastated by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.

While in Grand Bahama recently, Mr Cooper expressed concern over “the difficult circumstances” under which customs and immigration officers are working at the airport.

“So, when we talk about deplorable, we talk about customs officers sitting outside to complete an entry—five at a time in a trailer and having outhouses—and I really think we can do better,” he said at the airport.

“This is a distressing experience and each time I arrive at this airport, I am rather distressed that over two years very little has been done here, and it is a constant reminder of Hurricane Dorian and the circumstances faced by the people in Grand Bahama.

“We are thankful to the staff who provide services here at this airport under very difficult circumstances. They persist in providing service to the general public, and we are thankful to them.”

The GBIA is vulnerable to flooding during storms. It experienced about a 20ft storm surge during Hurricane Dorian, which battered the terminals and buildings. Under the Minnis administration, the government purchased GBIA in April 2021 from the Freeport Harbour Company, which is part of Hutchison Port Holding of Hutchison Whampoa Group. Plans were to redevelop the airport through a public-private partnership arrangement.

Mr Cooper, who is also Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation in the newly elected Davis administration, said he visited the airport shortly after the general election to ensure it was a safe operation.

“We visited the tower and inspected the equipment. We wanted to make sure it was safe for tourists and the general public, for Bahamians and the residents, to use the facility. We were satisfied with the safety elements.

“We are now very concerned about the working conditions of our citizens, many of whom still operate five or six at a time in a small trailer and using outhouses,” he said on Thursday before leaving for New Providence.

The sight of the airport is not only a painful reminder to residents, he said, but it is not welcoming to visitors and investors coming to the island.

“The facade here on the buildings that have been terrorised by Hurricane Dorian is a constant reminder, and it is a gateway to our second city.

“We are hoping to attract big investors here to the island. So over and beyond the sheer pain to our residents, it is not a welcoming experience for investors to Grand Bahama. We are hoping to negotiate a deal for the Grand Lucayan hotel over the next few months, and the natural first question of any investor arriving on the island is, ‘my God, what are you going to do with this airport?’

“So, we made some determinations today that notwithstanding the fact that we will do a PPP on this airport in the medium to long-term, there have to be some immediate short-term fixes.

“We will have that discussion with our colleagues at Cabinet with some specific proposals provided by executives of the Airport Authority and staff here on the ground to see that we can bring some immediate relief to the operations here.

“The message today is while we are operating safely, we are comfortable that we can accommodate our international partners who bring guests to this island. We have discussed, along with the Ministry for Grand Bahama, some of the short-term fixes that we are going to be examining to bring those to fruition fairly quickly.

“We do not want to say more than that at this point. We do not want to make specific commitments right now until we have done some costing analysis,” Mr Cooper said.

“But we see that the former domestic building seems to have fared relatively well compared to some of the warehouse-type buildings. I will see what we can do here as a temporary measure. “Naturally, with big plans to build a world-class airport, there is the natural inclination not to invest more money.

“I think it is an immediate need and, therefore, I will go back to my colleagues and the board of the Airport Authority, and we will urge them to give us the support to cause there to be some fixes.”

Mr Cooper thanked the public officers, customs and immigration officers, Airport Authority employees, and others who continue to serve notwithstanding the very difficult circumstances at GBIA.