Bahamasair (UP, Nassau International) is evaluating various options to preserve cash, including salary cuts affecting all 595 employees, after the Bahamas restored border restrictions three weeks after they were relaxed due to a resurgence of the COVID-19 cases.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced on July 19 that effective July 22, international travel to the archipelago would be suspended until further notice. The ban does not apply to private flights, repatriation charters, as well arrivals by sea by private crafts and yachts.
The decision forced flag carrier Bahamasair to suspend all routes to Florida, its only international destination. The carrier's international operations restarted on July 1, following over three months of grounding. Bahamasair continues to operate repatriation charters to the US. The airline hoped to restart services to Cuba on August 1 but has deferred that move in light of the restored border restrictions.
The Bahamas opened its borders to international traffic on July 1, after formally declaring itself COVID-free. However, between then and the renewed closure of the borders, the country confirmed 49 new cases of the disease, nearly a third of the total tally since March.
