Tourism stakeholders in Abaco were overjoyed as flights began coming into the new Marsh Harbour Airport facility yesterday, some 20 months after it was initially schedule to open.
Resort and retail operators said they expect the airport's opening to lead to a boost in air service to the island, resulting in more business all around. Ground was broken on the airport in 2011.
Percy Pinder, owner of the Sand Dollar Shoppe in Marsh Harbour, Abaco and the organizer of a petition to the prime minister last year, which called for the opening of the airport in the interests of the economy of Abaco and which garnered thousands of signatures, said he expects the airport to have a "tremendous" impact.
"Nobody believed it was going to open until it did, I was out there this morning and it's very, very nice. People are going and coming, and it seems to be going smoothly. I think now it's open you'll see a lot more flights coming in over the next year, and I think you'll see the price of tickets come down. It's going to be good for the economy of Abaco," he said.
Molly McIntosh, sales manager at the Green Turtle Cay Club, said that the boutique resort is "thrilled" to see the airport finally open.
"We can sit here and talk about how everything didn't get done how it was supposed to and go on and on, but we need to put a positive spin on things and just start to get more people here. More money will fix all of our problems."
As for whether she thinks the opening of the airport will lead to better air service into Abaco, McIntosh was a little more circumspect.
"To be honest, there has to be the demand. If the demand is there, they will come in and land at a little hut. I think the most important thing it will do is improve the first and last impression of our visitors, and I think it will also give everyone a better sense of pride and we'll come across better as a people, and that in turn will bring more people in.
"The airlines aren't going to come just because we have a pretty new building."
An employee of the Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour said the company is "really excited" about what the new airport will do for the area.
"We had outgrown the old building. A lot of times the tourists would come in and say, 'when are you going to open the airport'? A lot of the ones who come here yelling, they will be happy.
"Now it's open I think we'll have more flights coming into the island and that should boost the business of tourism."
Speaking in September 2013 at the Abaco Business Outlook conference , David Johnson, then director general of tourism, said that the introduction of the new airport would allow for upgrades to air service to the island, including direct jet flights beyond the currently limited Miami regional service provided by American Eagle.
"We are in the process of concluding negotiations with a major U.S. carrier to provide such a service," he said.
It is not clear to date exactly what led to the significant time and cost overruns on the project.
Some had suggested that part of the delay related to the fact that it became apparent that the airport would be difficult to operate profitably, due to its design, and therefore plans to bring in a private company to open and manage the airport had to be scrapped.
Instead, the government contracted with a number of professionals who formerly worked for the Nassau Airport Development Company, which built and transitioned the Lynden Pindling International Airport to operational status. These contract workers worked alongside a number of government employees in a team that has finally been able to open the facility.
Contacted yesterday for comment on how much the government anticipates spending on the operation of the new airport going forward and how many staff members will be taken on to operate the larger facility, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin said she would reserve comment until after Prime Minister Perry Christie speaks in the House of Assembly on the matter today.
The government announced late Monday the opening of the airport for flights yesterday.
Guardian Business understands that operations flowed smoothly for the most part during the day.

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