Aviotec - New Airport Site Selection Studies for the Family Islands, Bahamas

The Bahamas Ministry of Transport & Aviation has selected Aviotec International Inc., in partnership with Islands by Design, to prepare site selection studies for new greenfield airports for the southern part of Eleuthera Island and for Long Island. The studies are an important component of the government's initiative to restructure and modernize the country's aviation sector.

The new airports are intended to replace the existing Rock Sound (Eleuthera), Stella Maris (Long Island) and Deadman's Cay (Long Island) airports. A previous study completed in 2013, also undertaken by Aviotec, found that the three airports are prone to severe flooding during hurricanes, have existing terrain and obstacle issues, could not be fully upgraded to meet ICAO design standards, would be challenging to prepare for future night operations, and their runways could not be extended to serve future aircraft types and markets.

Development of the new airports are critical to providing safe and reliable air service to the islands' residents, as well as providing convenient access to the growing number of tourists. In general, the new airports will be planned for a long-term vision to accommodate private GA and airline traffic from markets as far as Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada.