“Commonwealth” Misconstrued

Airlines for America (A4A), a Washington D.C.-based trade group that advocates on behalf of its members to shape crucial policies and measures that promote safety, security and a healthy U.S. airline industry—has filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, anticompetitive, and unreasonable charges have been levied against its member airlines by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

A4A asserts subject policies and measures violate the Air Transport Agreement (ATA) between the two nations.

A4A contends that The Bahamas is charging "astronomical" fees for air navigation services—fees that far exceed the cost of providing such services. The trade group posits that The Bahamas views air navigation charges as a means by which to exercise sovereignty over its territorial airspace, but points out that excessive levies constitute a breach of its obligations under Article 10 of the US-Bahamas ATA.

In addition to the Bahamian government, listed respondents include Bahamas-based Air Ambulance Services Ltd., Azure Aviation (Bahamas), Bahamasair, Cherokee Air, Golden Wings Charter (Bahamas), Inter Island Charters (Bahamas), Island Wings Ltd., KSA Charters Ltd., LeAir Charters Ltd., Performance Air (Bahamas), Southern Air Charter, Trans Island Airways, and Western Air Bahamas. Airlines party to the A4A complaint include American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and United Parcel Service.

A4A’s complaint reads in part: "After significant engagement with the government of The Bahamas on this issue, the members have not seen or received any details that confirms that Bahamas’s air navigation charges are consistent with their treaty obligations. Accordingly, the members resort to requesting that the department exercise its authorities under IATFCPA (International Air Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974) to remedy the unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, anticompetitive activities of the Government of The Bahamas."

Notably, the A4A complaint sets forth that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides air traffic services for Bahamian airspace via a May 2021 Air Navigation Services Agreement (ANSA). The ten-year agreement is a solid deal for The Bahamas government, with the FAA not charging for services provided for operations above 6,000-feet, but instead assessing a flat $80,000 annual fee for the provision of data for the Bahamian government to use in billing and collecting fees.

The Bahamian government, however, is also charging member airlines its own per-nautical-mile distance-based fee for the provision of air traffic control services for aircraft transiting Bahamas’s airspace on a minimum takeoff weight (MTOW) basis—applying the highest charges to the biggest aircraft.

"Even greater charges (on a per flight basis) are levied for aircraft that land or depart from The Bahamas," A4A’s complaint avers. "Nothing revealed in the members’ engagement of more than a year-and-a-half with The Bahamas indicates a reasonable correlation between the fees charged and the services provided by The Bahamas."

A4A explains that member airlines pay The Bahamas government $51.60-per-nautical-mile when transiting Bahamas’ airspace and $61.00-per-flight when taking off or landing therein. Since the Bahamian government started charging its own fees last year, A4A states its member airlines have paid approximately $20-million.

A4A acknowledges that the fees charged by The Bahamas government are used to fund the country’s civil aviation authority, cover the costs of accident investigations, and build the island nation’s air navigation capacity, but argues that its member airlines already pay into the FAA’s Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which covers air traffic control and related facilities. U.S. air-carriers object to paying the Bahamian government for a service they already pay the FAA to provide. Bahamas-based airlines and other non-U.S. carriers flying into The Bahamas are not subject to the same double-dipping regime.

The FAA states interested parties should answer the complaint in Docket DOT-OST-2022-0150 by Wednesday, 11 January 2023. Thereafter, the agency will have sixty-days to resolve the complaint. If required, a thirty-day extension will be enacted.

FMI: www.airlines.org