By LISA S. KING

Freeport News Reporter

Visitors arriving to Grand Bahama from Ft. Lauderdale on Continental Connection early Wednes-day morning were warmly greeted when they entered the new airport terminal.

Their arrival marked the first flight to have passengers processed through the new Immigration and Customs facilities.

On hand to welcome the passengers to Grand Bahama and to the new airport terminal, were officials from the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Ministry of Tourism and airport personnel.

Executives of Gulfstream International Airlines, the company which operates Continental Connection, were among the passengers, who were also greeted by Immigra-tion and Customs officers.

Gulfstream International Airlines' President David Hackett said with the airline being a significant player in the local tourism industry, it is only fitting that Continental Connec-tion be the first flight service to arrive and have its passengers processed through the new facilities at the terminal.

"We are very strong believers that one of the great competitive advantages of the tourism industry here is the easy access to get in and out, in addition to the beauty of the resort and the people here, which are so great," Mr. Hackett said. "This is just one more step in the process of developing tourism. Its a nice terminal. People get in and out quick and it should really help to grow the business."

Mr. Hackett noted that most of the international connections from Florida start at about 10:30 a.m. to 11a.m. mainly because of connecting flights from various locations in the United States to Florida.

"You will see a big volume start here around 12:30 p.m. In fact you will notice that with most of the jets coming in with connecting passengers, it will go from quiet to very busy in a short time," he said.

Gulfstream International Flight Operations Vice President Luke Smith said not only was the flight from Ft. Lauderdale a good one, but the passengers were very pleased and pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful the new terminal is.

"The new airport looks like a showpiece," he said. "It looks like something you want to present to the public when they pull up and their first impression of The Bahamas is that this facility is consistent with the beautiful culture they are expecting. I would imagine that the economy of Grand Bahama will soar because of the new accommodations at this airport ."

Mr. Smith said Gulf-stream International Air-lines has more departures than any other U.S. airlines in and out of not only Grand Bahama, but in other islands like New Providence, Exuma, Eleuthera, Abaco and Cat Island.

Port Director Randy Robb said he was incredibly excited to see that the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together and becoming operational.

"You can see the work that went into this and since yesterday and last night, we executed the move with Bahamas Customs and Immigration, and it made me so proud of our airport employees because they did a tremendous job," Mr. Robb said. "You can see that we were ready to go this morning when we brought in the first flight."

He said Bahamas Customs and Immigration were moved in "so that all international arrivals will start up on Wednesday of next week because we just want to make it a great experience for the people who arrive here in Grand Bahama more than anything else."

Mr. Robb said instead of the 200 peak hour passenger capacity that used to be in the international flight area of the old airport, there is now an 800 peak hour passenger capacity in the new terminal.

Sammy Gardiner, senior director for the Ministry of Tourism in Grand Bahama, said the new airport terminal is an important element in the total tourism product mix for Grand Bahama.

He noted that the island has been enjoying a lot of improvements particularly in the hotels. With passengers arriving from international destinations now being able to be processed through Bahamas Immig-ration and Customs facilities at the new terminal, it is a fitting addition to that whole mix.

Mr. Gardiner said it is also a part of the government's plan to upgrade the airport and the country's points of entry particularly since 9/11. Additionally, he said, the new airport represents the government's angle to pay special attention to security. The Ministry of Tourism's angle, he said, is to also pay attention to security along with hospitality.

"This facility being the first in the world to have been constructed post 9/11 bears a special element in that it has surpassed the security tests and certainly is going to enable us to be very effective with the Grand Bahama VIP Welcome Experience programme," Mr. Gardiner said. "So the Ministry of Tourism joins the Port and Grand Bahama in celebrating the result of an on-going partnership between the government, the tourism industry and the GBPA."

Immigration officials Roosevelt Newbold and Desleane Cumberbatch agree that that the new airport terminal looks great. They both expressed their pleasure in admitting the first set of people coming into the new facilities and were glad to be a part of the memorable occasion.

NEW FACILITIES — The occasion of passengers arriving to Grand Bahama from Ft. Lauderdale on Continental Connections early Wednesday morning marked the first flight where passengers were processed through the new Immigration and Customs facilities of the new airport terminal. Pictured are passengers being processed in the new Immigration facility at the new terminal. (Photo by Lisa King)