D’Aguilar: Negotiations with Americans on airspace management resumes

D’Aguilar: Negotiations with Americans on airspace management resumes
Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Dionisio D'Aguilar.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar, on Tuesday revealed that the aviation ministry’s negotiations with the American government on the management of the country’s airspace has resumed.

D’Aguilar revealed this much to media before heading to Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Back in November, the aviation minister announced the government’s plan to begin charging international carriers for flying through its airspace and that a request for proposal (RFP) was being formulated for interested companies who could assist the government in monetizing the country’s airspace.

During this time, he had also revealed that the ministry had been in dialogue with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to finalize how and when the government would begin charging for carriers which utilize the country’s airspace.

“It is really a two-prong approach. The first side is to negotiate with the Americans on the management of the airspace [and] that process is ongoing,” D’Aguilar said.

He also told media that the United States government shutdown at the beginning of the year had briefly slowed down negotiations with the Americans.

The shutdown ended last month and the minister said, “We are presently in an RFP (request for proposal) process and are hoping to see proposals come in.

“When we get those, we will evaluate those and hopefully the monetization process will commence,” the minister said.

About Ginelle Longley

Ginelle Longley is a broadcast reporter and occasional TV news anchor with Eyewitness News, also serving as the station’s evening radio news anchor for 103.5 The Beat. She has reported on news beats including government, politics, crime, human interest, business and even sports. In 2018, she was nominated for the Bahamas Press Club’s “Student Media Journalism Award”.