Routes Americas 2012: Your Host for Routes Americas

Richard Maslen December 01, 2011

The host for Routes Americas is Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) and their Partners. NAD is a Bahamian company, owned by the Government of The Bahamas and is under a 10-year management agreement with Vancouver Airport Services (YVRAS). In April 2007, NAD signed a 30-year agreement with the government to manage, operate and redevelop the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).

In March 2011, the new US Departures Terminal opened as part of stage one of the airport’s $409.5 million re-development project. Stage two, a 226,000 sq. ft. International Arrivals terminal is currently under construction with a completion date of fall 2012. The third and final stage, a new International/Domestic Departures and Domestic Arrivals terminal will be completed in the fall of 2013.

NAD and its parent company Vancouver Airport Services will work alongside the major partners; Atlantis, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and the Bahamas Hotel Association to host Routes Americas 2012.

LPIA serves as a major gateway into Nassau and the entire Bahamas, today more than 3.2 million passengers utilise LPIA annually. The airport is unique as it runs three distinct operations – A US pre-clearance facility, an International terminal and a Domestic terminal which make the airport operations quite complex compared to similar airports in the region.

Currently there are 24 airlines serving 25 destinations in 8 countries and the city is easily accessible from all parts of the Americas by frequent services either direct or via a major hub including Miami, Atlanta and New York. Its most recent arrival has been JetBlue Airways which inaugurated flights from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in November, offering travellers from the north of New York City the opportunity for an alternative option to reach Nassau. JetBlue is offering a daily Embraer 190 service between Westchester County and LPIA, which it already serves from its main base at New York JFK.