Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper reacted to the closure of Silver Airways in The Bahamas on Wednesday.
Cooper said the news is not a surprise and that government is in discussions with other airlines to full the void. He said,” we’ve already engaged Bahamasair directly about what additional routes we might provide. We’re looking at the data. We’re going to make the assessment in the next day or two and we’ll take some decision as to the next steps in the best interest of Bahamasair and the best interest of Bahamas tourism. But we’re looking at it actively at the moment. Over the course of the next few days we’ll know more.”
The minister also addressed the issue of customers who would have booked flights. “I imagine they would have gotten notice sometime last night and they would have certainly been calling some of the major airlines to see how they may reschedule their flights. So, as I’ve said, we have steady airlift in all of our main markets,” he said.
Silver Airways offered services in Grand Bahama, Bimini, Exuma, Eleuthera and New Providence in The Bahamas. It also offered services abroad that brought visitors to the country that Cooper says needs to be filled. He said, “direct from George Town, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, of course Nassau. They serviced Tampa. Tampa is an area where we will need of have some deep discussions because that was a niche that they provided a service in.”
Minister Cooper met with officials of various airlines on Wednesday in Miami about expanding airlift to the country.
