NASSAU, The Bahamas — BACSWN agrees with Airlines for America (A4A) that aviation charges must be fair, transparent and tied to services provided. Its proposed charging methodology is being developed around Article 15 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) associated policies.
BACSWN is committed to ICAO’s four key charging principles: non-discrimination, cost-relatedness, transparency and consultation with users. Before any charge for aviation meteorological services is introduced, BACSWN will consult airspace users and provide details of the proposed services, their costs and expected benefits, including potential operational efficiencies.
“Airspace users should know what services they will receive, what those services cost and how any proposed charge has been calculated,” BACSWN said. “Their views must be heard before a fee is introduced.”
BACSWN’s proposed aviation meteorological services are intended to provide timely, reliable weather information that helps aircraft operators make informed decisions across approximately 174,000 square miles of Bahamian airspace. The aim is to enhance aviation safety and efficiency while ensuring that any charge is consistent with ICAO policy and Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAA-B) regulations.
We reiterate that the exact level of fees has not been finalized. Considerable movement in market conditions, rescoping the project, cost modelling and business projections mean that previously circulated figures, including one of $775, are no longer relevant. For the record, we expect the number to be considerably lower and we will provide more detail on this in due course.
“We welcome a constructive discussion with airlines and other airspace users,” BACSWN said.
“Our goal is to improve the weather information available to pilots and operators, with a charging approach that is fair, transparent and open to scrutiny.”
