One month after one of its aircraft crashed off Miami Beach killing all 20 people on board, Chalk’s Ocean Airways has resumed service to Bimini, taking on a partner.
According to a tourism official on Bimini, the airline has resumed flights between Fort Lauderdale and Bimini.
“At this time, Chalk’s has been running seven-seat aircraft in partnership with Island Air Express out of Fort Lauderdale into Bimini,” Antoinette Stuart, events and products coordinator at the Bimini Tourism Office, told The Bahama Journal on Wednesday.
The twin-engine aircraft used for the service lands at the South Bimini airport, leaving Chalk’s’ seaplanes grounded.
The owners of Chalk’s Ocean Airways voluntarily ground the airline’s fleet after the December 19 crash of one their G-73 Turbine Mallard in waters near the Government Cut just off Watson Island, Miami shortly after takeoff.
Eleven of the victims were Bahamians from Bimini, and one was an American woman who was a Bimini resident.
Continental Connections also services a daily flight between Bimini and Miami. The airline reportedly hopes to begin flight services between Bimini and Fort Lauderdale next month.
Mrs. Stuart said while business is presently slow it is expected to soon pick up.
Officials expect a boost in tourism during the spring break period in March and April and are hopeful that the summer period will also be busy.
“We had a number of visitors over the weekend,” Mrs. Stuart reported.
“At the same time, Biminites realize that because we do not have access to a lot of options here on the island, flying is our only means of leaving at this time. There is no passenger service between here and Grand Bahama or the United States, and so we have a tendency to get over our fear of flying in short order.”
Many Biminites and other people are wondering if Chalk’s would be able to stay in business as it faces numerous lawsuits connected with the December 19 crash.
In the most recent case, the father of Michele Marks, who was piloting the plane at the time of the accident, filed a $100 million lawsuit against the airline.
Jack McCormick’s lawsuit claims that based on a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, the aircraft was too old to be flying and was not properly maintained.
Meanwhile, Biminites are trying to get past the recent tragedy involving the destruction by fire of the historic Compleat Angler Hotel, which claimed the life of one of their own, former Olympian Julian Brown.
The 12-room hotel, which was famed author Ernest Hemingway’s residence from 1935 to 1937, was also home to the Hemingway Museum.
“We’re planning some events for later on in the year to generate some interest in rebuilding the Hemingway Museum,” Ms. Stuart said.
“Where that is concerned, I think we are going to have a number of repeat visitors come back to the island, if only out of curiosity to see what has happened to the building.”
Bimini has another museum, which also has its own collection of Hemingway artifacts, photos and copies of documents.
Tourism officials are hoping that a replica of the Compleat Angler Hotel will be constructed.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
