The national flag carrier Bahamasair 737, jet-piloted by Senior Captain Joel Stubbs, made its flight to the southeastern island of Cat Island with some 125 guests for the Official Commissioning of the Arthur’s Town International Airport, May 1, 2026.
A Water Cannon Salute fanfare by the Cat Island Youth Marching Band, Honour Guard comprising the New Cohort of the Cat Island Airport Authority Fire Fighters, and scores of residents assembled in a beautifully decorated setting marked the celebration atmosphere of the milestone occasion.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis, with Mrs. Ann Marie Davis, led the list of dignitaries from New Providence for an estimated 22-minute flight to the island of his birth. Also present were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation the Hon. Chester Cooper; the Hon. Clay Sweeting, Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs; the Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle, Minister of Labour and the Public Service; the Hon. Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs; Former Prime Minister the Hon. Perry G. Christie; Dr. Kenneth Romer, Deputy Director General of Tourism and Director of Aviation; officials of the Airport Authority; and Local Government representatives.
The airport's opening is the latest of the Family Island Airports Renaissance Project, a goal outlined by the Davis Administration in its Blueprint for Change in 2021.
“We dared to think that we would be an Administration that delivered on its commitments and built the kind of infrastructure that our Family Island communities have been crying out for, for years,” said Prime Minister Davis. “Today, as I gaze out at our new Arthur’s Town Airport, I dare to say, we’ve done it!”
Deputy Prime Minister Cooper deemed it a proud day not only for his ministry, but also for residents throughout the island.
“It is a proud day for this community, a proud day for Cat Island, and a proud day for The Bahamas…” he said.
Added Mr. Cooper, “This airport will cause the expansion of the economy of tourism, jobs and opportunity in this area.”
The old airport underwent major transformation, with expansion of the terminal from just over 1,200 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet, outfitted with ticket counters, office spaces, and a security screening section. The departure area has seating for 52 people, concession area, ATM, restroom conveniences, and parking to accommodate up to 50 vehicles.
With new facilities to support international arrivals, including an area for Customs and Immigration, Cat Island can now welcome direct international traffic, just in time for Maker’s Air to begin direct air service from Fort Lauderdale, May 12, 2026.
Upgraded navigational aids, solar lighting, and enhanced runway safety will support larger aircraft, including Bahamasair’s ATR-600 which will also begin service here this summer.
“We have also added an aviation ambulance in Arthur’s Town, which will improve access to critical care when it matters most,” said the prime minister. "So, the impact of this investment reaches far beyond simple air travel. It strengthens safety, connects families, supports health, and improves daily life.”
The prime minister thanked contractors, technical experts from various ministries, private partners, and all involved in the project. The Family Island Airports Renaissance Project oversees construction, renovation or expansion of airports throughout the archipelago.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Phillip Davis said The Bahamas has fewer than 400,000 people, but it has punched above its weight in the international system for 53 years and intends to continue doing so.
“We are now a member of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law; we have secured the adoption of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index; we have established diplomatic relations with 23 new States across Africa, the Pacific, the Gulf and Latin America,” the Prime Minister said in a video address at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bahamas Alrae Ramsey Institute of Foreign Affairs 2025 & 2026 Commencement Ceremonies at the University of The Bahamas on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
He said these are not the footprints of a small state but the footprints of a country that has decided its size does not define its ambition.
The Prime Minister told the 2025 & 2026 Cohorts that he expects them to represent the whole country, carry out the country’s agenda faithfully: climate justice, parity justice and economic justice, while safeguarding the integrity of the service.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Fred Mitchell said the Institute was created to supplement the native intelligence persons bring to a job, and throughout their careers, foreign service officers will be rotated to different areas to gain experience.
The Director General of Foreign Affairs, Jerusa Ali said climate diplomacy remains the nation’s first-order foreign policy.
“Eighty percent of this country’s landmass sits within one metre of sea level. Our negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at the International Maritime Organization, at the loss-and-damage mechanisms our region fought to establish, carry a single brief— hold the line on adaptation, mitigation and resilience, and press, without tiring, for a climate finance architecture calibrated to vulnerability. You will be asked, in your turn, to hold that line.”
The Director General told the graduates that they will be asked to win the candidatures the Ministry is now fielding.
“A non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2032 to 2033 term. And a Deputy Secretary Generalship of the International Telecommunication Union. Campaigns of that order are won across the relationships, reciprocal support and quiet credibility that precede the vote. The officers entering the Service tonight are the ones who will have to carry those relationships. Start early. Be strategic."
She said, “You will be asked to strengthen our multilateral footing — at the United Nations, at the Organization of American States, at CARICOM, CELAC and the Association of Caribbean States, at the Commonwealth — and to build, more deliberately than this region has managed so far, the South-South partnerships that a changing order requires: on food security, on public health, on technology, and on artificial intelligence. These are the platforms by which a country of our size converts exposure into agenda setting and influence.”
The Director General said, “And you will be asked, above all, to serve Bahamians. The student stopped at a port of entry. The family displaced by a hurricane. The national in distress in a city half a world away. Consular work is the part of this profession the cameras do not film. It is the part by which our citizens will judge us. Answer the call. Follow it up. Do the work that happens before the file reaches anyone more senior than you. The country will know.”
