By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis estimates that The Bahamas stands to gain between $28m and $32m in revenue in overflight fees this fiscal year.

In the Senate yesterday, Mr Halkitis added that there are budding opportunities in expanding the country’s control of its air space, which should be capitalised upon.

“I want us to remember the situation with the over-flight fees,” Senator Halkitis said yesterday. “It took many, many years of negotiations across several administrations, but now I’m advised that this fiscal year we can expect to get between $28m and $32m in overflight fees. That’s the estimate.

 “It’s important that we’re able to get that money but what’s even more important is now moving to that next level of expanding our control so that opportunities in terms of aviation management, accounting in that area, aviation regulation, aviation finance, the whole legal aspect of managing that space of operations so that we can have a transfer of knowledge and a building of our local capacity because we are advised that there is a potential for many hundred perhaps even thousands of jobs in that particular sector of managing our space.”

 “He continued: “So, yes, it’s good to have the dollars but it’s even more important to say to our young people here are some opportunities that you might wish to explore.

 “These are opportunities that will be available and it’s a similar thing as we talk about carbon credits and building this type of regime because there will be opportunities to build capacity and opportunities to have that knowledge that those scientists who come from abroad come to share with us to transfer that to our local experts and students at the University of The Bahamas.”

 In September 2021, then Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said beginning that month, the country would collect around $2m in overflight fees from aircraft passing through Bahamian air space.

 The Government of The Bahamas signed an air navigation services agreement with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in May 2021, allowing the latter to continue managing The Bahamas’ air space for a period of ten years.

 Mr D’Aguilar said then that The Bahamas could earn up to $350m in overflight fees over that decade, although several sources suggested that fees could rise to $50m a year when global air traffic returns to normal volumes post-COVID.