FAA makes no further findings against LPIA

The Nassau Guardian

FAA makes no further findings against LPIA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made no further findings against The Bahamas when it conducted its latest review of Lynden Pindling International Airport’s (LPIA) safety regulations, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin said yesterday.

This was the first test since the FAA identified several issues at LPIA in May.

According to officials, The Bahamas spent about $3 million to correct deficiencies.

“Any issues that were raised in May were addressed and today there were no findings,” the minister said.

August 21 was the deadline for the Department of Civil Aviation to address the concerns that were raised in order to bring its standards up to the FAA’s minimum requirements for aviation safety.

Hanna-Martin said the government will receive formal notification next week on the country’s category status.

The Bahamas’ performance in yesterday’s assessment could have potentially led to a downgrade to a category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) jurisdiction, rather than a category 1 IASA jurisdiction.

Hanna-Martin underscored the importance of avoiding such a downgrade.

“The issue of a reputable aviation sector... is directly related to our economy and the well being of our nation,” she said.

“We are a tourism destination, and the importance of airlift internationally is critical to our economy. So anything that would have brought into question the quality of our aviation sector is something that is a matter of grave concern for every single Bahamian.”

Director of Civil Aviation Captain Patrick Rolle said the FAA identified a wide range of issues in May.

Rolle said the key issue had to do with training practices. He said a lack of current aviation inspectors was also an issue.

“What happens after the audit, they (FAA officials) go back and make an assessment of what the original assessments were,” Rolle said.

“Civil Aviation then sends a corrective action plan based on what those findings were and then they come back to review and to consult with the state to ensure that those things that we said were corrected, were actually corrected and what we did today was show the proof.”

With the FAA’s audit out of the way, Hanna-Martin said the Department of Civil Aviation’s will now start preparing for another audit, which will be conducted in October.

That audit will be carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Rolle said the department has some work to do in order to meet ICAO standards.

“Auditors will always find something wrong; that’s the nature of their business,” he said.

“Our job is to be in a position to correct those things. So what we’ve done is started a corrective action plan to ensure that we address all of those things that we think the focus will be on.”

A part of the corrective plan is to install a new radar.

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