Hotels in the Bahamas suffered a sharp drop in business and hundreds of tourists were left stranded over the busy Christmas season after a radar system at Nassau Airport failed, tourism officials said on Wednesday.
The radar system was back in operation by late Tuesday but not before 26 flights operated by six major US carriers had been canceled since Friday and eight diverted to Grand Bahama island or Florida, the Airlines Operators Committee said.
Alan Sweeting, the committee’s interim president, said at least 1,600 passengers had been stranded because of the cancellations.
“It’s unfortunate. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” said Frank Comito, executive vice-chairman of the Bahamas Hotel Association.
Michael Hooper, general manager of Nassau’s British Colonial Hilton Hotel, said the radar problem had probably reduced his Christmas weekend occupancy rate to 90 percent from an expected 100 percent.
Hotel owners in the island chain off Florida have long urged that Nassau Airport be upgraded.
Source: Reuters
