Systems failure costs airlines thousands

By BARRY WILLIAMS, Guardian Staff Reporter, barry@nasguard.com

Several major airlines faced a barrage of problems for six days, including losses of what was estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars during peak season travel due to "radar problems" at the Nassau International Airport (NIA). Airline managers say the problem was exacerbated by Civil Aviation and Airport Authority officials who kept them in the dark.

There were 26 cancelled flights that were scheduled to depart from Nassau, including six major U.S. carriers, and eight flights were diverted to Freeport or were sent back to the U.S. Airline officials were left to appease hundreds of frustrated passengers who were either delayed, in some instances up to nine hours, or had to make the best of the departure lounge as a sleeping area where they had to overnight.

Fed-up members of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) called a press conference on Tuesday at NIA where they chided the Airport Authority for what they regarded as poor service. AOC members, comprised of the general managers of the major airlines, are demanding answers.

"We who represent the airlines are very much concerned about what's happening and how the management of the inconvenience was handled. Certainly the airport officials, whether at the Civil Aviation or the Airport Authority, were really not up to par on communications. We would like a full explanation for the inconvenience of our flights and to the customers," said Alan Sweeting, General Manager of JetBlue.

According to Richard Ryan, Sales and Airport Manager of Virgin Atlantic, the radar "went down" last Thursday. However, it was confirmed that by 2p.m. yesterday the airport was trying to restore normalcy as its operations wobbled to its feet, as there was still considerable back log to deal with in the aftermath of the radar problems.

The AOC charged that there was no responsible authority on duty to account for the problems with the radar system, and they were left to assume that those in charge were "on holiday". In addition, AOC members also hinted that the radar remained down for six days due to a work dispute by some airport staff.

Idris Reid chairman of the Airport Authority told the Guardian that the Airport Authority was not responsible for that area of operations at the airport and so had no responsibility to pass on information.

Although the situation should be back to normal today, the tourism industry will suffer the after effects. "Conservatively, we're estimating that 1,600 people were stranded yesterday either in Nassau or from the other side of the United States coming this way," said Mr Ryan.

This would have impacted ticket sales, and also lost bookings for some of the major hotels that were awaiting guests that never arrived. There are also the operational costs to the airlines for the grounded flights, including remuneration to would be travelers.

"Apart from the dollar value aspect which is one thing, the bigger and most important issue is the 1,600 people having a bad taste traveling out of or into Nassau yesterday," said Ricky Deane, General Manager of American Eagle. "They'll just decide not to come back again because of the inconvenience," he added. An even larger consequence as pointed out occasionally by Deputy Director of Tourism Vernice Walkine is the fact that unhappy visitors spread the word to an average of ten people. Taking into consideration 1,600 unhappy travelers, you do the math and the point is painfully clear.

Ministry of Tourism officials were at the airport up to 2am Tuesday morning trying to pacify about 300 travelers that slept at the airport. They, along with agents from the various airlines, handed out blankets and other amenities to the passengers to try and make them more comfortable. Atlantis also lent a much needed helping hand by providing food to the stranded travelers who were unable to depend on the airport's restaurants and snack shops that eventually had to close.

According to Mr Sweeting who is also the interim president of the AOC, "Tempers were really flaring. People were just really frustrated with the conditions."

Mr Sweeting said what little information the airport's authorities did provide was untimely and did not provide much detail. The AOC said that due to the extreme nature of the situation it was irresponsible of the Civil Aviation and Airport Authority to leave them to chase after the information which they feel should have been readily available.