NASSAU| The $775 figure associated with proposed new aviation charges in The Bahamas has often been linked directly to BACSWN, but the proposed structure shows the organization would receive only a portion of that amount.
When the estimate was publicly outlined in May 2025, $550 per flight was projected as a net benefit to the Bahamian Government, while $225 was associated with meteorological services to be provided by the Bahamas Aviation, Climate and Severe Weather Network.
The $775 was also presented as an estimate, not a finalized aviation tariff.
That distinction is important as airlines and other aviation stakeholders continue to raise questions about proposed charges and what they would receive in return.
The Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority, BANSA, already plays a central role in the country’s aviation charging framework and has separately reviewed its charging structure with assistance from Spanish aviation consultancy ALG Group.
That consultancy work predates the public announcement of BACSWN’s $775 estimate. However, NewsGate has not established documentary evidence showing that ALG developed the $775 figure subsequently associated with BACSWN.
The concept of BACSWN charging for meteorological services also predates the current administration.
A February 2020 letter from then-Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar shows the former FNM administration supported negotiations with BACSWN following Cabinet consideration of its proposal in October 2019.
The proposed framework contemplated BACSWN assessing and collecting fees specifically for real-time meteorological weather services and filing notice with the FAA, ICAO and IATA. The document contains no reference to a $775 charge.
BACSWN has since said the earlier $775 figure is no longer relevant because of changing market conditions, project rescoping, updated cost modelling and revised business projections, with the eventual charge expected to be considerably lower.
The organization has also committed to consultation before a new fee is introduced.
“Airspace users should know what services they will receive, what those services cost and how any proposed charge has been calculated. Their views must be heard before a fee is introduced,” BACSWN said in a September statement.
BACSWN says the process will follow international aviation charging principles including transparency, cost-relatedness, non-discrimination and consultation.
The available record therefore presents a more complicated picture than BACSWN simply charging aircraft $775.
The earlier proposal separated the projected Government benefit from the amount associated with BACSWN’s meteorological services, while the overall charge had not been finalized.
With the earlier $775 estimate now described as no longer relevant, attention shifts to the revised structure, how much would ultimately fund BACSWN’s services and what airlines and other airspace users would receive in return.
