Many of the roughly 200 pilots in the country could find themselves unlicensed under new amendments to the civil aviation regulations that govern the industry.
“They have repealed and replaced schedules one through nineteen with schedules one through twenty, which is 1500 pages long,” said Captain Randy Butler, SkyBahamas’ CEO and president, referring to the Civil Aviation ‘Safety’ (Amendments) Regulations 2010.
“All the pilot licenses expire every 24 calendar months after issuance [and] what that means is most people who got their pilot license when they did not have an expiration date at that time, (the licenses) will now expire.
The licensing fee will increase from $12 to $400 for a new one and $200 for renewals according the new regulations — something that will create an additional revenue stream for the government.
While he applauds the Aviation Ministry for its attempt to put in regulations that will streamline the industry in line with international standards, Butler said the issue was with the absence of any real notification of the amendments to the act.
