By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Bimni’s MP says he hopes airlines will be willing to absorb some of the increased air fare costs to the island following the implementation of higher fees at its redeveloped $80m airport.

Kingsley Smith, the West End and Bimini MP, acknowledged concerns raised by residents and private pilots over the rising costs associated with the upgraded airport. However, he said the increased fees are a natural consequence of the improved infrastructure and years of under-collection.

“Yeah, there’s some concern about the prices increasing, but it comes with new facilities. It has to be paid. It has to be paid for,” Mr Smith said. “One of the things about the private individuals, the airport is not collecting fees for many, many years, and even keeping your plane at the airport, no fees were collected. And so now that a new company is managing the airport, building the airport, it is necessary to collect what is due.” 

Mr Smith added that while he understands the impact of higher costs, the investment in modern facilities is essential for the long-term development of Bimini’s aviation and tourism sectors.

“I sympathize with those persons, with the increase, but it comes with new facilities, new infrastructure. I would hope that some of the airlines can just absorb some of that for the consumer, but that’s business, a decision, and so we’ll see how it goes in the near future,” he asserted.

Mr Smith said the new airport facilities are expected to improve the passenger experience, enhance visitor confidence and attract additional airlift to the island, thereby boosting economic activity in Bimini. 

“I encourage everybody to take advantage of the airport. It’s something to be proud of, and it also helps with the visitor confidence - the ones who want to come to experience Bimini - and even the airlines and the private owners,” said Mr Smith

“They want to know that they’re coming to a brand-new facility, that the aircraft will be well-protected, that the runways are new, they are smooth, and all that will help. And so, yes, you may have heard some complaints, but I think over time that will subside tremendously for the benefit of Biminites.”

Bimini’s airport improvements are being undertaken by the Island Airport Development Company consortium. This features Plenary, the new financing source for North Eleuthera’s airport, as one of the partners. An infrastructure specialist, it is partnered with Phoenix Infrastructure, a US-based infrastructure advisory and investment firm with offices in Washington D.C and New York, and an airport and fixed-base FBO operator called Avports.

In an updated May 3, 2024, notice to commercial, charter and private aviation customers, the consortium served warning of its intent to impose a passenger facility fee on travellers from July 1, 2024. These fees were set at $20 for domestic travellers, and doubled to $40 for international passengers.

Meanwhile, the passenger processing fee was pegged at $5 for domestic, and $10 for international, travellers with both categories also having to pay a $1 “passenger levy”. In total, these additional fees come to $26 for domestic passengers and $51 for their international counterparts, and are on top of the $29 per head departure tax.

The fee schedule then revealed that the passenger facility fee was being increased to $25 for domestic travellers, and $45 for international passengers, with effect from January 1, 2025. And the passenger processing fee was to rise to $6 for domestic, and $12 for international, travellers with effect from that same date. Thus persons leaving Bimini to travel outside The Bahamas will have to pay an extra $58.

These changes coincided with increased Customs fees that were implemented at the same time. The Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024 changed the aircraft inbound and outbound fee structure such that a private plane with more than four seats now pays three times’ what a regularly scheduled commercial jet does.

Under the new fee structure, commercial jets have to pay a $50 “inbound” and $50 “outbound” fee for a total of $100. However, a private plane with four seats or less “including all seats in the cabin” now pays $75 each way for a total of $150. That is slightly more than the $100 fee for a commercial jet, but private aircraft with more than four seats “including all seats in the cabin” have to pay $150 “inbound” and “outbound” fees to Customs for a total $300. 

So-called “recreational” flights only pay $150 “inbound”, but cargo flights have a $150 fee levied on both “inbound” and “outbound” trips involving The Bahamas.

For private planes and private aviation, the fee increases represent a three-fold and six-fold increase, respectively, on the previous Customs fee structure which was $50 “inbound” and zero “outbound”. 

Private planes brought 323,000 air arrivals, or one out of every six higher-spending stopover visitors, to this nation in 2023. 

Some 95,000 of that number came from Florida alone and, giving an insight into what is at stake, the total was more than combined visitor numbers from Canada, Europe and Latin America.