Long-simmering infrastructure woes at North Eleuthera Airport, a critical tourism gateway for the Bahamas’ popular Harbour Island and surrounding coastal communities, are poised for a near-term resolution as government officials confirm emergency runway repairs are on schedule to wrap up by the close of this week.
Clay Sweeting, the nation’s Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, shared the updated timeline with reporters ahead of a recent Cabinet meeting, noting that resurfacing work is progressing smoothly and crews are preparing to add the required runway striping in the coming days. “We anticipate, if we don’t have too much weather, within this week you should see it completed by the end of the week,” Sweeting told reporters. If no unforeseen delays hit the project, the newly repaved runway will be cleared for commercial flight operations as early as next week, he added. Currently, the airport remains open to limited daily traffic, but closes promptly at 5 p.m. each day to allow construction crews to work without disrupting scheduled arrivals and departures.
The urgent repair work was triggered last month when Western Air, one of the Bahamas’ prominent regional carriers, suspended all service to North Eleuthera starting October 2. The airline pulled out after identifying dangerous uneven and sunken sections of the runway that created hazardous, rough takeoffs and landings for its aircraft. Sherrexcia “Rexy” Rolle, Western Air’s president and chief executive officer, has stated publicly that the airline will only resume routes to the island once the infrastructure repairs are verified to meet safety standards.
The service disruption came at an especially inopportune time for the local community: it occurred just days before thousands of visitors were set to travel to Eleuthera for the annual Harbour Island Homecoming event. Former North Eleuthera Member of Parliament Rickey Mackey sounded the alarm immediately after the suspension, warning that the loss of air service would “create major havoc here in North Eleuthera” by derailing travel plans for event attendees and hurting local businesses that rely on tourism revenue.
Construction crews broke ground on the emergency repairs nearly two weeks ago. Sweeting, who also serves as the MP for Central and South Eleuthera, initially projected a 12-day completion timeline, with crews scheduling overnight work to minimize disruptions to ongoing flight operations. The repair scope involves milling away damaged sections of the existing runway surface and laying fresh asphalt to fill potholes and level uneven patches that were flagged during recent safety inspections. Earlier this month, Bahamas Striping, the private contractor handling the paving work, noted that the new asphalt layer requires a 30-day curing period before official Civil Aviation Authority-compliant markings can be added to the runway.
This current resurfacing project is only a short-term fix to address immediate safety concerns, while the Bahamas government moves forward with plans for a full, permanent redevelopment of the airport infrastructure. Sweeting confirmed that bids for the long-term upgrade project have already been submitted by contractors and are currently undergoing internal evaluation, after which they will be forwarded to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for final approval. The permanent overhaul is set to include a brand-new, longer runway and an expanded aircraft apron capable of accommodating larger commercial jets, a change that will also support a planned additional airport development farther east on the island.
North Eleuthera Airport’s deteriorating condition has been a point of concern for Bahamian officials and tourism stakeholders for years, given its role as the primary entry point for millions of tourist dollars flowing into Harbour Island and nearby coastal communities. As recently as 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper called the airport’s existing conditions “completely embarrassing,” even as he acknowledged the island’s strong and consistent tourism performance. Cooper later revealed that a $55 million financing package from the Saudi Fund for Development had been tied up in bureaucratic delays and never drawn down, but the government has since secured alternative funding to move the permanent project forward.
Back in 2023, at an IDB procurement fair, Charlene Collie, project coordinator for the airport infrastructure programme, outlined a roughly $30 million overhaul plan for North Eleuthera Airport. The proposal included a new parallel runway, an expanded aircraft apron, and conversion of the existing original runway into a dedicated taxiway. At that time, Collie projected that the project contract would be signed by September 2023.