By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Deputy Prime Minister yesterday said “there are no winners” from Monday’s Airport Authority strike as he voiced concern over the damage inflicted on The Bahamas’ tourism reputation from missed flights and delays.

Chester Cooper, also minister for tourism, investments and aviation, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting, branded the nationwide industrial action by more than 150 union members an “issue of significance to the economy and to the tourism industry, our reputation as a country, our reputation as a tourist destination. The actions were not only illegal, but most unfortunate”.

While the Government and its Airport Authority had moved to put contingency plans in place, having received advance warning of impending industrial actions, lengthy passenger queues and congestion still resulted at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) due to the absence of regular security screening personnel.

And, while not confirmed, it appears that the strike was timed to cause maximum damage since it coincided with a US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) audit of LPIA’s security systems. The TSA overseas facilities such as the US pre-clearance section at LPIA, the major aviation gateway to The Bahamas for stopover visitors and locals/residents alike.

Mr Cooper said: “The TSA, from the US, has been doing an audit that was intended to last for several days. They are aware of the industrial action. They have been providing some assistance and guidance, as the case might be, especially during peak time.

“They understand that these things happen. We have to see at the end of the day what the impact of that assessment will be - what impact the actions had on that assessment. We anticipate that that’s not going to be a significant issue. They [the TSA] understand what’s been happening, and they sympathise and they understand the reality that we had to work with on Monday, in particular.

“The opportunity, though, was for us to demonstrate that we have a contingency plan and that the contingency plan worked. We were able to satisfy them that, notwithstanding the union actions, we’ve been able to manage properly in line with regulations and the expectation of the industry.”

Mr Cooper said the number of Airport Authority workers who had yesterday returned to work was “significant” after the Government-owned agency, on Monday evening, obtained an emergency Supreme Court ruling ordering that industrial action by the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) and its members be halted.

Justice Denise Lewis-Johnson, upon an urgent application by the Airport Authority and its attorneys, also issued an injunction preventing further strike action on the basis that the BPSU and its members were in violation of the Industrial Relations Act. In doing so, she backed the position taken by Keith Bell, minister of labour, who accused the workers involved and the BPSU of engaging in “illegal” industrial action.

This was because his ministerial predecessor, Dion Foulkes, had referred the dispute with the Airport Authority to the Industrial Tribunal on February 27, 2021, thus acting as a bar to any strike or other action.

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, said yesterday: “I think the economic impact as a result of yesterday was significant to some of our stakeholders, who may have had to stand in the gap to facilitate some of the passengers who may have been stranded as a result of missing their flights etc…

“We have been working along with the major hotels to ensure that we smooth-in the process for all of the people impacted. We’ve been talking with the airlines to ensure that the persons who missed their flights yesterday are properly facilitated today [Tuesday]. The Airport Authority has identified the people who missed their flights and promised them expedited processing through security today.”

The deputy prime minister continued: “The Ministry of Tourism did all we could to help to communicate and to help to facilitate a few passengers who remained at the end of the night, and we did so because it was the right thing to do.

“There are many of the passengers from Delta aAirlines who missed their flight during peak periods. They have been able to be rebooked so that process is being managed, and Bahamasair yesterday ran mostly on time, only with a small number of persons missing flights, and therefore the matter was delayed but genuinely systematic.

“The wait time perhaps increased by an hour during the peak period as you saw the long lines. But we were able to work through those lines systematically. During the morning period, it flowed but during the peak time between 10 (am) and about 2(pm), it did become unacceptable.”

While the total damage to The Bahamas’ tourism product has not yet been determined, “many” people missed their flights while inbound tourists may have been discouraged from coming. “We do know that we are committed to a resolution. We want to move forward in harmony with workers,” Mr Cooper said.

“We are a government administration that’s labour friendly. We consistently say that the reality is that my mission as the minister responsible for aviation is to ensure a state of normalcy, and to say to the workers that we will guarantee that they will receive whatever they are legitimately entitled to receive.”