The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A senior airline executive said yesterday that a traditionally slow travelling period had become “even slower” in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, telling this newspaper: “Right now, people’s resources are stretched.”

Captain  Randy Butler, the Sky Bahamas president and chief executive, said: “It’s really a slow period right now, and because of the hurricane it’s even slower to tell you the truth.

“You can’t take this time to raise any fees. Right now people are just taking taking food and what not to the Family Islands and I’m sympathetic to that.”

He added: “Right after the storm people wanted to go out and see. The travel experience to Freeport for one thing isn’t as pleasant because of the damage they sustained there. People’s resources are stretched right now. That’s just the way it is.”

Captain Butler urged the Government and relevant agencies to better prepare for the eventuality of future hurricanes. “How many of these are going to be teachable moments?” he asked.

“We just had a major storm last year and we still haven’t fully recovered from that. It’s the same mistakes. What are we going to do?    

“As a country we have to keep pushing forward; we have to keep going, we can’t stop now. We need to put our heads together. We have to put the necessary policies in place, for instance, dealing with evacuations. Right now the true character of people are coming out, in both ways. You have people who are helping and people who really aren’t.”