NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A Fort Lauderdale-based airline with daily passenger and freight flights to the Bahamas has bemoaned the significant fee hikes it has faced, noting that for the first six months of the year, it has seen nearly $500,000 in fees.
Sarah Swainson, Maker’s Air’s head of private charters and business development, addressed the Exuma Business Outlook and said that cost is the biggest complaint about getting to Exuma.
The airline, which offers private charters as well, has direct flights to Staniel Cay, Chub Cay, and Andros. There are also flights to North Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rock Sound, Long Island, and Great Harbour Cay.
“Speaking of January to September 2024, we flew 12,469 passengers from Fort Lauderdale Executive to Staniel Cay. The total number of passengers we flew into Staniel specifically in 2023 was 14,300, so we’re tracking ahead, and that’s just one of our destinations,” she explained, noting that the airline conducted 59 private charters into Staniel Cay and six into George Town.
“The biggest issue we face is the fees. We are paying the same fees these larger aircraft are paying, but we only have nine passengers to spread them out. The fees that have been coming are not only passenger taxes that are springing up at a moment’s notice but also landing fees, and fees for brokers, and agents. We have to have specific people on-site at the airport to clear Customs if we have freight. All these different fees have come out this year. We have sat down as a company and looked at what it’s cost us, and I can tell you that just in the first six months of this year, it’s been over $495,000 in fees we didn’t pay last year,” Swainson explained.
She added: “What’s the biggest complaint people have about getting to Exuma? It’s the cost. The situation is the cost has to go up, or we will go out of business if we don’t pass that on. We’re doing the best we can to pivot and be smart. I don’t think that government agencies necessarily know what’s happening, that Immigration, Customs, and the Ministry of Finance are all sitting in the same room and understanding the impact and the trickle-down. We hope that with great communication and reorganization, we can make some changes and keep those costs down and keep people coming to the Bahamas.”
Kerry Fountain, the Out Island Promotion Board’s Executive Director, noted that as a destination, the Bahamas still isn’t capitalizing on its proximity. “Government has to collect its taxes, we know that, but every action has a reaction. We have to figure out a way for them to get their money but make sure it’s more affordable to get here,” Fountain said.
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