More than two months after the official renaming of Nassau International Airport to Lynden Pindling International Airport, the process to have the airport recognized internationally under its new name is almost complete, according to Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin.
She told the Bahama Journal, however, that she expects the process to be concluded soon. The minister explained that while internationally the name Lynden Pindling International is being used, the airport is still recognized by the old call letters “NIA.”
The minister said local aviation authorities have completed disseminating information on the name change to international civil aviation authorities ﾖ a practice she said is standard procedure.
“The NOTAM, which is a notice to airmen, which is the procedure used to give information out worldwide in civil aviation matters went out. The world has been informed that itﾒs Lynden Pindling International Airport,” she said.
She said international aviation authorities were still trying to figure out which code will be appropriate for the Lynden Pindling Airport.
“We wanted to use LPI, but another country was using that. Then we looked at LIA and someone else was using that, so just in terms of the tagging that was the only outstanding matter,” Minister Hanna-Martin said.
While not giving a time for when the new airport code or tags will be assigned, the minister said she expects it to be completed almost immediately.
She added that while the matter of the airport code is important, the airportﾒs name has been changed legally.
Meanwhile, the government still has not yet concluded an agreement with the company that will manage Lynden Pindling International. The Canadian firm, Vancouver Airport Services, will oversee a multimillion-dollar development planned for the facility.
Some critics had said that the government should have waited until the airport was upgraded before naming it in honour of the late former prime minister. But government officials decided to go ahead with the name change during the independence anniversary celebrations in July.
Last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie told The Bahama Journal that the agreement should be signed before the end of October.
“I had anticipated the need to have it done by the end of August, certainly by the first of September,” he said. “And so, I will expect therefore that in a short period of time ﾖ in a matter of weeks ﾖ for that agreement to be examined by Cabinet and decided upon and thereafterﾅwe will go ahead and sign it.”
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
