The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN aviation operators yesterday said they were optimistic a “booked solid” Christmas period will escape the flight delays and clogged airport ramp that impacted last year’s festive period.

Anthony Hamilton, Southern Air’s director of administration, and president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, told Tribune Business: “Business has indeed improved, progress is certainly being made. For this season we are seeing a good indication of improvement.”

Incoming flights for Southern Air are “booked solid” with just a few available seats still left, and Mr Hamilton added: “I don’t think there will be any back-ups at the airport this year. We’ve made some adjustments and we have been dialoguing with the air traffic controllers and aviation leadership from the air traffic end of it. The chemistry, the environment and atmosphere has definitely gotten a positive shift.”

Citing a “lack of effective communication” in prior years with air traffic control, he continued: “There’s some other things. There’s work still to be done, and we’re making some progress with the communication, things being unearthed that weren’t shared previously, so we can address them now.

“Other than that there is a bucket list of items we need to continue working on because there is always room for improvement in the business. We have experienced the downside of things and now we are in the recovery process, and this requires proper planning, organising ourselves and then implementation.

“So we are going through that implementation process for some of the changes we have predicted. Then we will continuously evaluate this, and determine whether we’re going ahead or going backwards, but I would say right now we’re going on an upward skid here.”

Maintaining this momentum depends on ongoing dialogue and consultation over legislation that governs the sector, Mr Hamilton added. “Normally in the past we’ve had this cut and paste kind of situation, and you get things shoved at you. That was not a good environment. So automatically there was retaliation because the rules were difficult to enforce or practice what was actually being pushed out,” he said.

“But now we have turned the corner. Not that we are totally happy, but there is an improvement. We want to advocate change not just for New Providence, but for the entire Commonwealth of The Bahamas, because we can all share from the growth of the aviation industry.”