By ANNELIA NIXON

anixon@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s aviation chief yesterday said traffic congestion at peak arrival/departure times is creating a “misconception” The Bahamas has outgrown its main airport gateway ahead of a $200m upgrade. 

Dr Kenneth Romer, director of aviation and deputy director-general of tourism, told the Rotary Club of Nassau that “innovation” in traffic management and working with the airlines to stagger arrival and departure times outside peak travel hours is critical to eliminating traffic “bottlenecks” at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).

Pointing out that The Bahamas’ busiest airport is a “ghost town” from late afternoon, he did not provide any specifics on the planned LPIA improvements other than to say these will be disclosed by Vernice Walkine, president of Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), the airport operator.

Apart from saying she has “an exciting announcement about the ongoing improvements for the LPIA”, Dr Romer did not say when this would be forthcoming while confirming that existing LPIA upgrades are focused “on the air side” with improvements to the aircraft aprons.

Two attendees at the Rotary meeting said traffic management at LPIA needs improvement. One, a taxi driver, added that there were times she has lost business due to planes that were unable to offload passengers in a timely manner after landing.

“The plane would be on the runway,” she said. “Just park on the side and you will be standing up just waiting for your arrivals, for your guests, and sometimes in conflict with another pick-up time that you have. You end up losing a job because you have to give it away as the two flights are coming in at the same time.”

Dr Romer said one gate at LPIA is temporarily out of use, but acknowledged the concerns over traffic management especially during peak travel hours. “There is this misconception that we have outgrown LPIA because a lot of what we see is traffic during the peak times,” he said.

“So a lot of our traffic is channelling between 11am, 12pm until 3pm. If you go there at 5pm or 6pm, the airport is a ghost town. You go there in the night, it’s a ghost town. A lot of our concerns over the perception of LPIA outgrowing its existing facilities has to do with how we manage the peak arrival times and the departure times of our airlines.

“So it takes some innovation. It takes us down to attracting airlines arriving outside of the peak time. How do we spread out the arrivals and departure times working in tandem with our hotel properties, with our airlines, to ensure that we don’t have this bottleneck approach between the peak arrival time, which is good again for business and for commerce.”

Dr Romer added: “A lot of the immediate plans for LPIA, however, really speak about traffic management. How do we work with our airlines and our air traffic controllers under the Airport Authority and the US Customs and Border Protection and, of course, NAD to ensure that during the peak time the visitor experience is better managed.

“LPIA is the leading airport in this region. I commend them again for the amount of time they are putting into managing not just domestic traffic, but also international, the US and international traffic. But the immediate plan, again, is to work on managing the peak arrivals, the visitor experience and to give some immediate relief again to the arrival gates.

“Some of the gates were down. Their plans right now are to ensure that they return again to full usage. We’re working again with our airlines. We will increase, again, baggage belts for bags that are coming in. So now there’s a plan and I’m certain that Vernice will be more excited to share the long-term and the immediate plans with you beyond what I just would have shared with you this afternoon.”

As for the Family Island airport upgrades, Dr Romer reaffirmed that $18m will be invested in the new airport for Deadman’s Cay, Long Island, including “additional plans to extend their runway”. He added that new construction “is in the pipeline for Mayaguana and Inagua with a combined capital expenditure of about $10m.” Treasure Cay, Marsh Harbour and Andros will see new and upgraded airports.

“On July 1, as we speak about the evolution of aviation, we launched for the first time a national aviation strategic plan for our country,” Dr Romer said. “This comprehensive plan positions The Bahamas to be the regional leader in aviation through industry inclusivity, innovation, systematic execution and stakeholder engagement.

“Our plan focuses on several pillars inclusive of, first of all, improving airport infrastructure and development, enhancing strategic partnerships and engagement. We’re hosting unprecedented numbers of conferences in our shores for Latin America and other regions. Third, we focus on increasing airlift and improving air connectivity. We focus on enhancing human capital development.

“With the launch of the first-ever Bahamas Aeronautical Academy we’re launching our aeronautical cadet programme. We’re working again to ensure that all of our frontline workers at Bahamasair, inclusive of our cabin attendants, are having first-line customer service training that has been leading the way for the industry,” Dr Romer continued.

“All of our frontline workers will be trained in customer service and in understanding the Bahamian culture. We’re improving operational efficiency, financial resilience and revenue optimisation for all of our nine aviation agencies. We’re strengthening safety security systems. We’re positioning The Bahamas as a regional leader in sustainable aviation and air transport services, and we’re improving innovation and technology. That is our strategic plan for aviation.”