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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2025
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LPIA’s ‘unusual delays’ as flights three times’ longer t 8FTUFSO "JS AEJWFSUT nJHIUT EVF UP SVOXBZ SFQBJST t $BSSJFST CFBSJOH FYUSB GVFM DPTUT MPTT PG AHPPEXJMM t /"% TBZT TBGFUZ UPQ QSJPSJUZ UPVSJTN T AOP JNQBDU
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AIRLINES yesterday warned travellers to brace for flights to take up to three times’ longer than normal due to “unusual delays” caused by ongoing runway repairs at The Bahamas’ major airport. Western Air, in an advisory to passengers, said a flight from Freeport to Nassau “that typically takes 35 minutes” is “now averaging up to one hour and 30 minutes” with Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) reduced temporarily to just one functioning major runway while the other
LYNDEN PINDLING INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LPIA) remains closed for critical infrastructure and safety rehabilitation. The carrier, which said it has even had “to divert flights” cases because it took too long to obtain clearance to land in Nassau, was backed by
Anthony Hamilton, the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators president, who told Tribune Business this newspaper would be “amazed” by the impact of the increased air traffic congestion that has
‘Myth from reality’: 99% of account requests approved By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE first-ever survey on the ease of opening a Bahamian bank account will separate “myths from realities” with more than 99 percent of applications approved in often “less than a week”. Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas), told Tribune Business that the inaugural half-yearly Bank Account Opening survey represents “a good first step towards building consumer confidence” while acknowledging that the findings showed the commercial banking industry has yet to achieve
t $FOUSBM #BOL TVSWFZ .PTU BQQSPWBMT AJO MFTT UIBO XFFL t 'JEFMJUZ DIJFG A(PPE mSTU TUFQ PO DPOTVNFS DPOmEFODF t A#BOLT FBTZ UBSHFUT CVU BHSFFT JNQSPWFNFOU OFFEFE perfection on an emotive issue for many Bahamians. But, while it has frequently been asserted that it is far easier and quicker for Bahamians to open a bank account in the US than in their homeland, especially since the 2000 passage of laws designed to escape the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) then-blacklist, he also pointed out that
“banks are easy targets for criticism”. The Central Bank, in unveiling its survey on bank accounts opened by six institutions between January and end-June 2024, said that while the number and percentage of rejected applications was relatively low there was still room for “interventions” that could improve customer service and the
OFF-duty police officers hired as private guards are creating unfair competition for security guards, according to one company president. Gamal Newry, owner of Preventative Measures, said the use of off-duty police officers as security guards at private companies creates a challenge for security firms. “Bear in mind many private entities now utilise off-duty police officers who carry firearms,
notwithstanding they are law enforcement officers, but they’re acting the role of a security officer, and they are armed,” Mr Newry said. “But of course, the police force, a law enforcement officer, is a different legal creature than a security officer. They have certain privileges, certain powers, certain expectations and privileges are afforded to them versus a security officer. But business establishments now do have that as an option via private engagement, through law enforcement, through the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
“When I say off-duty, that officer is off-duty, but the business establishment would have gone to the police commissioner and gotten approval for that officer to act on that property in a certain capacity. So that officer is not acting on their own. They have been approved by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, by the commissioner of police.” Mr Newry’s comments followed security firms’ desire for security guards to be armed with firearms while on duty. Currently, there is no legislation in place that allows security officers to be armed with firearms. “As far as I’m aware right now, there are no authorised deadly force options for security officers in country,” Mr Newry said. “I’m not aware of that. That is something that did come to the table during the event hosted by National Security back in October of last year. So it did come to the table, but as far as I’m aware,
LPIA’s operator, warned on January 29, 2025, that the $10m runway upgrade would start on February 3 and was targeted for completion before the Easter weekend climax to the peak winter tourism season. NAD yesterday acknowledged that “some extended wait times” for both incoming and outgoing aviation traffic were inevitable, given that the airport is down to just one major runway, but reiterated that the impact is only temporary while “safety and operational efficiency” are its key
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Rubis gets final appeal on $159k gas leak damages By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GOWON BOWE ease of conducting banking in The Bahamas. Of the 28,153 new deposit account applications submitted during the 2024 first half, the banking sector regulator revealed that more than 99 percent were processed and approved during this same six-month period with less than 1 percent denied or rejected. And, once all necessary Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence documents were supplied
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Off-duty police ‘unfair’ competition for security By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
resulted from runway 14/32’s closure. He disclosed that flights are having to carry extra fuel to cover the extra time they are now circling New Providence waiting to be cleared for landing, or spending on the taxi-way waiting to take-off. This, Mr Hamilton said, means airlines are incurring extra costs while also losing customer “goodwill” due to the travel delays and inconvenience many are experiencing during The Bahamas’ peak winter tourism season. However, none of this came as a surprise to the airlines. The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD),
no entities are using lethal force, and this is with the exception of cash and transit providers. Those armoured car services, they do use lethal force as an option to defend their cargo, their payloads. But for the average everyday security officer placed at a business establishment or in a bank, be it a hospital, be it a food store, they do not carry any type of firearms. We may see in some instances where officers carry handcuffs, carry batons. As far as I’m aware, there’s again no legislation or regulation mandating how those officers are to carry or utilise those particular tools. “I haven’t been made privy to any type of federal movement in that regard. I know National Security has made efforts to improved quality and making sure companies meet the existing regulations, but to say if they have expanded that into firearms or use of force,
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RUBIS (Bahamas) bid to overturn a $159,450 damages award after fuel leaks from one of its gas stations contaminated a Marathon resident’s home was yesterday cleared to proceed to a final appeal hearing. The London-based Privy Council, the highest court in the Bahamian judicial system, rejected an earlier Court of Appeal verdict that the petroleum products supplier and wholesaler had no ability to “appeal as of right” following the latter’s ruling which cut the damages awarded to Lillian Antoniette Russell by 77 percent - from $692,825 to $159,450. Had the Privy Council delivered an alternative verdict, Rubis (Bahamas) would not have been able to mount a final effort to overturn the Court of Appeal verdict. However, the London-based law lords have now cleared all obstacles to doing so and will hear the oil major’s substantive case as a result of yesterday’s ruling. The Court of Appeal had rejected Rubis (Bahamas) final bid to challenge on the basis that legal precedent established it only had “an appeal as of right” if the case involved a claim for ‘liquidated damages’. These are damages that are fixed, such as a clause in a contract, which are payable if a party breaches its terms. However, Ms Russell’s claim was for ‘unliquidated damages’ - meaning that the amount of compensation had not been pre-determined. Recalling the background to the dispute, the Privy Council verdict delivered yesterday noted that it stemmed from her claim “for damage to her property allegedly caused by fuel leaks from tanks at an adjacent petrol service station owned by Rubis”. This would have been the company’s Robinson Road and Old Fire Trail
Road gas station, and the Privy Council added: “At first instance [the Supreme Court], the claim succeeded in relation to leaks occurring in 1994 and 2012-2013, and damages of $692,825.14 were awarded. “On appeal it was held that Rubis was only liable for the 2012-2013 leak and the damages were reduced to $159,450. Rubis seeks to appeal on liability, causation and quantum.... Ms Russell owns one property in a housing subdivision in Nassau, which is situated across from a petrol service station owned by Rubis since 2012, separated by a roadway. “Rubis purchased the service station from Texaco Bahamas and then leased it to Fiorente Management and Investment. Ms Russell commenced these proceedings in March 2015. In her statement of claim she alleged that leaked petrochemical products had migrated from the service station to her property, and had contaminated the soil and water table there,” the Privy Council continued. “In relation to the 1994 leak, the claim was brought against Rubis for negligence on the basis that Texaco had failed to remediate her property, and that Rubis assumed Texaco’s liabilities when it acquired Texaco’s assets. Claims were also made for trespass and nuisance. “In relation to the 2012-2013 leak, a claim in negligence was made on the basis that Rubis had failed adequately to inspect, maintain and repair the fuel equipment at the service station. Claims were also made for trespass, nuisance and liability.” The Supreme Court found in an April 14, 2022, verdict that both leaks had occurred, caused damage and reduced the value of Ms Russell’s property. Finding that Rubis was liable for the leak, it awarded $692,825 to her consisting of $250,000 for “loss of
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Bank processing speed hit by 28k new accounts By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TWO-thirds of Bahamian commercial banks complained that the volume of new account applications impacted the speed and efficiency at which they processed these requests during the 2024 first-half. The Central Bank, unveiling the first-every half-year survey on the ease of bank account opening for the six months to end-June
2024, reported that four of the six institutions surveyed - who accounted for almost 69 percent of all new account applications processed - said the sheer volume of requests had an “unfavourable” effect on their operations. “Of the six banks surveyed, four (representing 68.7 percent of applications processed) reported that the volume of applications had unfavourably affected processing speed and efficiency, while two
institutions indicated experiencing no impact from business volumes. Concerning staffing resources, all but one of the banks (covering 83.6 percent of applications) noted no change,” the regulator said of the findings. “Meanwhile, four respondents, which processed 58.2 percent of the applications, indicated that outsourcing arrangements did not apply to their operations, while two banks experienced no
reported change from such arrangements. “Information technology platforms had a disclosed favourable impact on the performance of two respondents (26.1 percent of applications volume), while variations in KYC (know your customer) documentation, anti-money laundering compliance standards, and other regulatory standards had little to no change on the majority
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