Grand Bahama International Airport | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner | Freeport Airport Development Company (Government of The Bahamas) | ||||||||||
Serves | Freeport, The Bahamas | ||||||||||
Hub for | |||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 8 ft / 2 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 26°33′31″N078°41′44″W / 26.55861°N 78.69556°W | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) ( IATA : FPO, ICAO : MYGF) is an international airport in Freeport, The Bahamas. It was privately owned until the government of The Bahamas purchased it in April 29 2021 for one Bahamian dollar, a deal they were able to procure largely due to the devastation from Hurricane Dorian, which almost completely destroyed the airport in 2019. [2] [3] The Bahamian government spent a approximately $1 million on staff severance costs as part of the deal. [4]
Before being purchased by the government of The Bahamas, the airport was a joint venture between Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) and The Port Group (or the Grand Bahama Port Authority). The facility also includes 741 acres (300 ha) of land that adjoins it to the Freeport Harbour Company Limited as they operate as one entity, known as the Sea Air Business Centre (SABC). [5]
The airport has a 3,359 m × 46 m (11,020 ft × 151 ft) runway which is capable of handling the largest aircraft in service and is relatively close to all major cities of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
Some other features that are available at the Grand Bahama International Airport are:
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
American Eagle | Miami Seasonal: Charlotte |
Bahamasair | Fort Lauderdale, Nassau Seasonal: Orlando |
Flamingo Air | Marsh Harbour, South Bimini |
Neos | Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa |
Silver Airways | Fort Lauderdale |
Sunwing Airlines | Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson |
Western Air | Fort Lauderdale, Nassau |
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
IBC Airways | Miami |
FedEx Feeder | Miami |
Bahamasair Holdings Limited is an airline headquartered in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, located on the island of New Providence. It is the national airline of The Bahamas and operates scheduled services to 32 domestic and regional destinations in the Caribbean and the United States from its base at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
Bouraq Indonesia Airlines, branded sometimes as Bouraq Airlines or Bouraq, was an airline headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, which operated mostly domestic passenger flights out of its bases at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport.
Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly known as The Marsh Harbour International Airport, is an airport serving Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, The Bahamas. Marsh Harbour is a major tourist attraction. The airport offers scheduled passenger flights to Nassau and several destinations in Florida as well as regional jet flights nonstop to three major U.S. hubs, Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami in the U.S. In 2007 a new runway was built to allow larger, regional jets to operate from Marsh Harbour. A new airport terminal opened on 27 May 2014.
Treasure Coast International Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Fort Pierce, a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the St. Lucie Board of County Commissioners.
Flamingo Air is a small airline in the Bahamas. Its base of operations is the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport. It also has offices in Marsh Harbour Abaco Airport, in Bimini International Airport, and in the Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau. It provides scheduled service to several islands, as well as Air Charter service to the Bahamas and south Florida.
Western Air is a commercial airline based in the Bahamas offering daily flights throughout the islands of The Bahamas and South Florida. Western Air is a privately owned airline, established in 2000, headquartered at the San Andros Airport on Andros Island. The airline operates its own passenger terminal and full service maintenance facility at the Grand Bahama International Airport. Western Air's uniformed fleet of EMB145 50-seater jets with one-class cabins are heavily utilized by Bahamian locals and tourists to travel between the city of Nassau and the outer islands, such as Bimini, Exuma, Cat Island, Andros, Abaco and Grand Bahama. Western Air launched its first US route, between Nassau and Fort Lauderdale, Florida in May 2022.
Florida Commuter Airlines was a small U.S. regional airline based out of Palm Beach International Airport that evolved directly from Roberson Air, Inc., which did business as Red Baron Airlines. This happened when Dr. Rudolph P. Scheerer bought out Dr. Clive E. Roberson for a 100% stake in the airline on June 13, 1980. The management structure remained the same except for Dr. Clive E. Roberson. On July 24, 1980, Florida Commuter Airlines received its carrier operating certificate as a commuter and charter operator. It was certified to fly 2 DC-3s and a Piper PA-31 Navajo. On September 9, 1980, an interline agreement was signed with Air Florida. An interline and a bilateral agreement was also signed with Eastern Airlines.
On September 12, 1980, Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65, operating from West Palm Beach, Florida to Freeport, Bahamas, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island. The Douglas DC-3A used on the flight was not recovered and all 34 persons on board were killed.