AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 10

AOPA ACTION
TOP STORIES /
HiAOPA issues Bahamas travel advisory
gh fees imposed on GA pilots are harming tourism
ships and stay at least 24 hours off ship.
Additionally, many private aviation visitors
frequent the less accessible Out
Islands, providing a crucial economic
boost to hotels, restaurants, and activities
in those areas.
" These fees will not only discourage
PR I VATE PI LOTS V ISI T ING the Bahamas
are being met with " egregious " new entry
and departure fees that in many cases
exceed the fees being imposed on commercial
airlines. As of July 1, 2024, the Bahamas
Customs & Excise Department has imposed
substantial fees on pilots flying general aviation
aircraft on recreational flights.
AOPA President Mark Baker sent a
letter urging Bahamas Prime Minister
Philip Edward " Brave " Davis to intervene
and rescind the high fees on visitors
arriving and departing the country in private
airplanes. Baker also submitted an
alternative fee proposal that included an
annual decal program, but the prime minister
has not responded.
General aviation is an important segment
of the Bahamas tourism industry.
According to data from the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism, stopover visitors
who arrive by private aviation nearly double
the number of stopover visitors who
arrive by private boat or arrive by cruise
pilots from flying to the Bahamas, but
they will also have a negative impact on
the Bahamian citizens and businesses
involved in the tourism industry especially
in the outer islands that are most
easily reached by general aviation aircraft, "
said Baker.
We announced the Bahamas Travel
Advisory to our more than 300,000
members through our influential general
aviation media and communications
network. AOPA's Travel Advisory is in
addition to one the U.S. State Department
issued in January.
" It is a real shame the Bahamian government
has chosen to penalize private
pilots whose desire is to enjoy all the
Bahamas has to offer, " Baker said.
Five Florida airports may impose automated landing fees
A IRPORTS LOCATED IN one of the nation's busiest flight training
corridors are preparing to impose more fees that will, if
implemented, have serious consequences for flight training,
flight schools, and local pilots. The landing fees are made possible
by newly available automation of ADS-B data collection
and invoicing and are being considered at DeLand (DED), Flagler
(FIN), Kissimmee (ISM), Orlando Executive (OEA), and Ormond
Beach (OMN) airports.
Florida contracted with Virtower to collect aircraft movement
data at state airports. Virtower is in partnership with Vector Airport
Systems, and Vector can use the Virtower data to provide automated
invoicing services to county and municipal airports that assess landing
fees, and Vector has been actively pitching its services to airports.
In 2020, the FAA mandated ADS-B installation on GA aircraft
operating in certain airspace. The equipage mandate-and
the data it provides-was never intended to be used to collect
10
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
fees or to enable aircraft tracking by third parties.
" Imposing new landing fees at public, not-for-profit airports,
intended to deter operations that provide the lifeline for these airports,
seems illogical and will ultimately have safety consequences
for pilots and may violate federal grant assurances, " said AOPA
Southern Regional Manager Stacey Heaton.
Public airports receive government funding to offset expenses
incurred by state and local governments. These publicly funded
assets are not supposed to become profit centers for state and local
communities, and federal grants come with requirements.
" The city and county governments considering these new landing
fees have been conspicuously silent about the fact that these
airports appear to be in good financial condition, and they've
received $67 million in federal grants, collectively, over the past
decade, " said Heaton. " This is misguided and stands to devastate
the flight training industry and local Florida pilots. "
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024
