Greater harmonisation key to tapping Caribbean potential: Bahamasair chief

Bahamasair CE Tracy Cooper is calling for greater harmonisation efforts to ease travel within the Caribbean, particularly on intra-island services. Cooper, speaking during a panel debate on 18 October at the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Buenos Aires, noted the strength of recovery in passenger traffic in the Caribbean region had surprised airlines and caught out those that had made cuts during the pandemic. “Especially this summer we were not able to meet the demand that was there on our doorstep,” Cooper says of his own airline. ”One of the things as we move forward, perhaps we need to recognise, is the aviation industry is much more resilient than we thought.” While wider economic headwinds threaten to curb the pace of recovery, Cooper highlights the longer-term issue around a lack harmonisation within the Caribbean when asked about the key challenge facing Caribbean aviation. ”The whole thing for the Caribbean is we are still fighting some things we were fighting before the pandemic, and that is harmonisation of efforts and the limited infrastructure that we have.” He says this was a key topic at the recent Caribbean Aviation Day, the IATA co-organised event held last month in the Cayman Islands.<br/>