Bermuda's L. F. Wade International Airport

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Bermuda's L. F. Wade International Airport

All passengers from here to USA get pre-clearance from US Customs and Immigration, unlike in Europe

To refer to this web file, please use "bermuda-online.org/airport.htm" as your Subject.

Aviation files by the same author include Airlines - Bermuda's Aviation History - Cruise Ship Arrivals - Illegal Imports - Former US Military facilities in Bermuda. In 1936, long before Keith was born, his father pioneered the radio direction finding system that was instrumental in commercial airlines flying into Bermuda and Keith's interest in Bermudiana began accordingly. This particular website seen here is one of the 124+ in-depth and unique web-files about Bermuda produced solely by the private-sector Bermuda Online and includes very extensive historic information about this entirely US taxpayer-paid airport and its US Military origins not on the Government's Airport website.

Airport Data in brief

Introduction

Air advisory Committee

Airlines serving Bermuda

Bermuda has scheduled commercial flights to/from Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston MA Logan (BOS); Charlotte/Douglas, NC, high season; Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), high season; Fort Lauderdale, seasonal; Halifax; London Gatwick ( 6.75 to 7.75 hours); Miami International (MIA); Munich (high season: New York (JFK); NYC Newark (EWR); New York - La Guardia (LGA); Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Toronto; Washington DC (DCA) and Washington-Dulles.

There are no commercial scheduled direct flights between Bermuda and any of the Caribbean islands. Going via the USA or Canada are the only ways.

Airport administration

The Department of Airport Operations (DAO) which runs the airport from its upstairs offices of the Bermuda International Airport, Cahow Way, St. George's Parish, Bermuda, is co-equal to the Director of Civil Aviation (DCA) as a Department of the Ministry of Transport of the Bermuda Government. The DAO has a full-time staff of 54 employees.

The DCA is appointed by the Bermuda Government which owns and operates the airport.The staff at the DCA include flight operations inspectors, an airworthiness surveyor and airworthiness inspectors. The DCA and his staff have several main functions. They are to regulate the airport; make sure the Department of Airport Operations operates to the right standards; run the Bermuda Aircraft Register (which includes about 150 aircraft, of which about a third are commercial, the others privately owned, including helicopters based aboard Bermuda-registered yachts); and ensure compliance with the Bermuda Government's air services policy which includes approving air fares, routes and services operated by the airlines serving Bermuda and charters.

Airport basics

No rental cars are allowed from the airport or from anywhere else in Bermuda. Bermuda is one of the few places in the world that bans them. Visitors get to their destinations by taxi or pre-arranged mini-bus. (Ordinary buses are not equipped to carry passengers who have luggage). For further details, see Visitor Transportation in Bermuda.

Bermuda needs the approval of the United Kingdom for all new air routes but the latter rarely interferes as Bermuda can handle its own charter business. The Bermuda Government, not the British Government, both sets all local aviation laws and approves the charges to and from Bermuda of all the airlines and their changes in schedules.

The airport is 536 acres. Its runway 12/30 is 9,713 feet in length and 150 feet wide. There are eleven taxiways, all 75 feet wide. The terminal apron has eight aircraft parking bays. It is the only airport in Bermuda. It falls under the Bermuda Civil Airports Act 1949, Bermuda Airport Regulations 1959 and Bermuda Airport Amendment Regulations 2002. It began in 1941 as a US$42 million project of and was financed 100% by US taxpayers from 1941. This is not known by 99% of our American, British, Canadian and other visitors. The runways and taxiways were constructed from scratch from former small islands in Castle Harbour by engineers contracted by the US Army Air Corps in 1941.

They built Fort Bell, later known as Kindley Air Force Base of the United States Air Force, later yet the US Naval Air Station of the US Navy, as one of the military bases purpose-built for the US Military in Bermuda from 1941 to 1995. It included all of what is now the airport. In January 1946 Kindley Field Airport, Bermuda, was opened. It was established on that part of the US military base once reserved for and used by Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF). The senior RAF officer in Bermuda during the War, Wing Commander Ware, was loaned to the civil government to oversee the conversion of the RAF's end of the military airfield into a Civil Air Terminal. Pre-fabricated buildings were relocated from Darrell's Island to assemble the first terminal. Ware remained with the local government after leaving the RAF, becoming the Director of Civil Aviation for many years. Although no longer maintaining any detachment in Bermuda, the RAF continued to use Island as a trans-Atlantic staging after WW2 While most foreign military aircraft passing through the Island had used the US military end of the airfield, the RAF continued to disperse its aircraft at the former RAF end of the field. Large detachments of tactical aircraft, accompanied by larger refueling, transport, and maritime patrol aircraft, regularly staged at the island on transits between the UK and the garrison at Belize, etc. From 1948, the Civil Air Terminal was the civilian part of the US military base. From 1948 to 1995, US taxpayers continued to pay all the costs of the airport, runways and adjacent military base - and the separate one in Southampton Parish. For this airport alone, the sum spent by American taxpayers has been estimated at about US2 billion. For half a century, the US Government bore all the cost of runway maintenance, air traffic control, airport fire appliances and much more.

When the US Navy ran the airport until 1995 as part of the former US Naval Air Station at the old Civil Air Terminal, it absorbed the cost, with only notional accounts passed to airlines. With the Bermuda Government now the owner and operator, charges and landing fees increased hugely to Bermuda taxpayers and visitors and have continued that way. However, millions of dollars have been spent in improving and upgrading the airport to a far higher standard than when under US Navy control.

No airport passenger boarding bridges or jetways (known in the United Kingdom as covered walkways). Possibly by 2013. Bermuda is one of the few international airports without any. A boarding bridge or jet way is the corridor that rolls out from the terminal at most airports to the front door of the aircraft. Nor are there any "at level" crossing points.

Passengers disembark or embark down or up the aircraft ramp, then walk from or to the aircraft and terminal in all weather.

When flights arrive or take off in the rain, passengers get wet. A passenger boarding bridge will be rain cover for embarking or disembarking passengers. Jetways may not be a practical proposition, either in cost or maintenance, especially in the salt-laden Bermuda air and closeness of airport to ocean.

A mobile tunnel from terminal to plane steps was not successful in 1995-1996.

Lighting is variable or high intensity. The approach is abbreviated, variable, or high intensity with a precision approach path indicator (PAPI) system on both runways. All runway markings are in accordance with ICAO Annex 14.

Taxiway lighting is medium intensity edge lighting with internally lighted taxiway guidance signs. There is also an aircraft radio controlled lighting system or ARCAL which is available for use between 11 pm and 7 am daily.

The airport is open for aircraft operations continuously. However, terminal services are only available from 5 am to midnight. Airport tower services and airport firefighting services are not available from 11 pm to 7 am. During this time the airport operates under non-tower operations and pilots of general aviation aircraft use the ARCAL to activate the airport runway and taxiway lights.

The airport operations building has two floors. It is made of a mix of Bermuda stone (limestone), concrete blocks, concrete and wood. The upper floor has 65,300 square feet and the ground floor 172,500 square feet. The cargo terminal has 25,850 square feet.

Via the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agreement between Bermuda and the USA, the FAA provides air traffic control services for Atlantic air traffic passing through Bermuda air space. Bermuda provides tower air traffic control services for all flights landing and departing the Island, to a distance of eight miles. The FAA provides air traffic approach control services from its New York Center for all flights on behalf of Bermuda.

Bermuda and the FAA also agreed a number of cost sharing responsibilities in equipment, maintenance and operations. Now installed is an array of navigational aids and communications equipment to help the FAA fulfill its en route and approach control responsibilities. The agreement enables the USA and United Kingdom to fulfill their commitments to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), while the FAA benefits from enhanced management of air space around Bermuda. Data sent from Bermuda helps reduce time and distance separation restrictions and permits access to the most efficient cruising levels for aircraft.

Air Traffic Control Service is provided from an ATC Tower located on high ground approximately midpoint of the runway on its north side. Departure and Arrival control is provided from New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at Ronkonkoma, Long Island New York, using radio transmitters and receivers installed in Bermuda and real time feeds of VOR and Radar signals from Bermuda.

Electronic navigation aids include a Category I Instrument Landing System serving runway 30, a VOR/DME serving both runways and a secondary surveillance radar, with a range of approximately 200 miles. Aeronautical information is available in the Bermuda Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). It may be purchased from the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation.

Airport Departure Taxes

In 2009 the main airport departure tax is $35 per person. The tax is payable by departing residents and visitors. How it is paid can vary. Some passengers may pay it directly to the airline who will then pay the Bermuda Government. Or it can be included in the overall cost of the ticket. Built into airline passenger tickets are other - hidden - taxes such as the Airport Security fee per passenger and a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC).

Airport Dump adjacent

Airport Instrument Landing System

Airports overseas

Airport Parking

There is a separate Government Parking Area, with three free reserved spaces for Government vehicles with license plates GP1 (the Premier) to GP20, only. For everyone else, 2 hours are shown as the maximum allowed in the short-term car park. The Department of Air Operations provides a few Handicapped Parking by Permit only spaces in the short-term maximum 2 hours Arrivals area, opposite the Airport Police Service station. There is a much larger Long-Term car park to the east of the Arrivals area, but currently, with no Disabled or Handicapped Parking. Motorists pay by credit card.

Airport Passenger Security & Security Fee

Airport security is contracted out by the Bermuda Government to a private sector security organization, which also provides the Bermuda Airport Security Police. Passenger security is handled by a different security company. It handles the screening of passengers' bags and luggage. Every bag going into an aircraft's hold will pass through an X-ray machine with Threat Image Projection to find images of dangerous objects. Electronic baggage monitoring helps to ensure extra bags are not put on the aircraft. It also helps locate bags of passengers who are detained by authorities from departing aircraft at the last minute. In addition to the Departure Tax of $25 per adult, all passengers pay a Bermuda Government Airport Security Fee, added on to the cost of an airline ticket. The fee is structured to recover a portion of the costs incurred to meet the security requirements stipulated by the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority.

Air Traffic Control Tower

This has not always been in Bermudian hands. When the US Base was stationed in Bermuda, the Americans ran the tower. In 1995, the responsibility for the tower transferred to the Bermuda Government and Canadian controllers were brought in to train Bermudians. By 1996, Bermudians were sufficiently qualified to run the tower. Bermudians are sent to Civil Aviation Authority approved schools in the UK for about three months and then return to Bermuda for practical training. Residents and tourists may not know is that part of the airport transfer agreement left radar reading as New York's responsibility and any flight that wishes to leave Bermuda requires New York approval. Coverage for 200 miles means New York can easily handle flights once they leave Bermuda's airspace on their way to either the US or Europe. Bermuda's airspace is Class D because it only extends up 2,500 feet and within a five square mile radius from the geographical centre of the Airport. Class D is an FAA Classification depending on the aircraft that use the airspace and, all the aircraft that do use the airspace, have to conform to particular radio signals.

During the peak period there are two controllers on duty. One is the local controller, who is responsible for all arriving and departing aircraft into Bermuda and issues landing clearances, departure clearances and provides weather information. He or she will also provide weather information to flights flying over Bermuda. The other controller is the ground controller who is in charge of any vehicles on the runway, giving taxi instructions and route clearances to aircraft departing Bermuda. Emergency situations – such as a diverted airline, a hurricane or the situation involving a terrorist hijacking such as that which happened in September 2001 involving New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania – begin with a pager call out from New York to RCC Bermuda Radio which relays it to Air Traffic Control, the Fire Department, Department of Airport Operations and the Weather Service. The managers of all the departments will liaise and decide who responds to a call. The work day for an air traffic controller ends at 11 p.m. when they will move through yet another checklist before turning over responsibility to New York, which is able to activate the lights and emergency services. But, as days can never be relied upon to be typical, there is emergency housing near the Airport for air traffic controllers, who may be called upon to remain in the tower for up to two days in emergency situations such as hurricanes.

Air Transport Licensing Board

Arrivals

Government is enacting legislation to speed up airport queues, cut red tape and boost border security by forcing airlines to hand over lists of plane passengers. The Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 is being amended to require electronic manifests from the airlines for arriving and departing passengers. Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess noted: "The information would alert authorities for people on the stop list or look out list before they arrive. By pre-clearing aircraft in this way, passengers can be cleared through the Immigration arrivals hall much more quickly and efficiently. A new border control system is being developed and implemented in the fall of this year to speed up processing of passengers while increasing the ability to identify high-risk passengers. Airlines have been consulted and gave broad support. However, because of various privacy statutes in other jurisdictions, they are unable to provide electronic manifests in the absence of a specific legal requirement, hence the tabling of an amendment to the Immigration Act." The electronic manifests will eliminate the requirement to collect landing cards on departure from Bermuda while the elimination of departure cards would bring Bermuda in line with countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, who receive electronic manifests and do not require travelers to complete a departure card. The Minister said it will also simplify the processing and storage of landing cards as there will only be a single card which will be collected on arrival into Bermuda. Once the new border control system is in place there will be no requirement for Bermudians who have the stamp: "Holder is registered as Bermudian" in their passport and/or possess a "Fast Pass" card to have to complete an arrival card. Therefore, the only document that a Bermudian will need to complete, when returning home, is a customs card. The credit card sized identification will only be issued to Bermudians and it will allow them to get through the arrivals hall faster through a special line where they will not be required to present their passport.

From January 8, 2007, airport queues for returning Bermudians only - not non-Bermudians who are tourists or business visitors - were cut with a new Fast Pass. They - only - will be able to wait in a fast-tracked new line, separate from returning expatriates, to speed re-entry. Bermudians and visitors frequently complain about the length of time it takes them to be processed upon arrival at Bermuda international airport. Their complaints are often justified. Measures are being taken to address this. As one example, Bermudians with the Bermudian status stamp in their passports will no longer be required to be in the residents’ line. Instead they will be in a dedicated line for Bermudians, provided that their passports contain the Bermudian status stamp. No longer will Bermudians have to stand in the same line as worker permit holders and other residents who undergo more scrutiny. It is not always easy to identify a Bermudian unless he or she has a stamp in his or her passport stating that the holder is a registered Bermudian. But that still means the Immigration officer must go through the passport to find the stamp, an occurrence that serves to lengthen the processing time. One may ask why this is necessary when the passport is a Bermuda passport. The ‘Bermuda’ passport was a version of the British passport, held by non-Bermudians who are British and British Overseas Territory citizens. But there have been cases of people arriving and purporting to be Bermudian but who do not have Bermudian status – only a British or Bermuda passport stating they were born in Bermuda. These persons try to gain unrestricted access to live and work in Bermuda when in fact some are illegal. As a result of this anomaly, Bermuda passports alone cannot be used to confirm that a person possesses Bermudian status. So from December 12 2006 the Bermuda Fast Pass card became available. Bermudians who currently hold a valid passport have to apply for the card at Immigration. Bermudian holders will not have to produce a passport on entering the arrivals hall. It is anticipated that the implementation of the Fast Card process will reduce waiting time significantly.

In the meantime, be prepared for a system with lines (queues) at the Immigration desk. While lines wait, visitors and incoming residents are greeted with music played by a local trio. En route to Bermuda, your airline will give you an exceptionally detailed form compared to other countries. It is similar to the one shown below. You are required by the Bermuda Government to complete all the information shown:

These provide a way to track visitors and what they import. In contrast, the UK abolished virtually all records of visitor arrivals and departures. Which makes it difficult for the UK to track terrorists and people who overstay their welcome.

March 9, 2007. Legislation to speed up Customs checks and improve the detection of contraband was passed by the House of Assembly. The Revenue Amendment Act 2007 obliges ships and aircraft to provide the Collector of Customs with electronic lists of passengers and crew prior to arrival in Bermuda when required. Government anticipates that this will assist local security officers in pin-pointing high-risk individuals and cargo items. The information to be listed will include sex, date of birth, passport number and country of issue. The bill also obliges ships and aircraft to provide electronic data in advance on cargo including the marks, numbers and contents of every item of goods on board. Failure to comply with either requirement will lead to a $12,000 fine. Minister of Finance Paula Cox told the House: “In a climate of rapid social and commercial change, existing Customs controls of passengers and their baggage have been found to be insufficient both with respect to duty and with respect to prohibitions and restrictions.” She said there was no existing requirement to deliver inward and outward passenger and crew manifests to the Collector of Customs and that the requirements in relation to goods are inadequate. There was also no power to specify that they must be delivered pre-arrival or in electronic form. She explained: “All of the measures are calculated to facilitate accelerated clearance of goods, passengers and their baggage by permitting advanced scrutiny and targeting of high-risk goods and persons in advance of their arrival in Bermuda. Such intelligence-driven or risk-based targeting translates into fewer and more directed searches of goods and persons with an enhanced likelihood of successful interdiction of offenders.”

Illegal Imports. Airline and cruise ship passengers are strongly recommended to read, learn, inwardly digest and pay strict heed to the webfile above. It applies to those who arrive by air or cruise ship or yacht. The full list of the hundreds of banned narcotics are in the Bermuda Government's Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 and Misuse of Drugs (Controlled Drugs) Order 2001 enacted on August 1, 2001. It is not an excuse if you fail to make yourself familiar with the contents of the full list. Penalties are very severe for those who ignore this warning. Locals, tourists and visitors are not given any breaks. The claims they invariably offer that they do not have the money to pay the fines are routinely ignored. They are remanded in custody or are put on bail with their transportation tickets impounded until they do. Also, there are many other repercussions.

In Bermuda, the maximum length of stay is a mere three weeks (can be extended up to 90 days on request and for sufficiently good reason) compared to up to six months routinely in most other tourist destination countries. Those without acceptable or adequate current documentation such as valid passports or on an FBI or Interpol stop list will be stopped and detained instead of being allowed to enter.

All arriving passengers must tell Immigration if they are visitors or salespeople or corporate representatives. If they are not Bermudian and not strictly on vacation, they must produce Bermuda Government Work Permits. Do not attempt to try to use your visit to see any client or conduct any business in Bermuda without having the required Work Permit if you are not Bermudian.

At Bermuda Immigration, in what appears to be a system unique to Bermuda (it is not in effect at any UK or USA or Canadian airports) arriving passengers receive a card from an Immigration officer to indicate what type of inspection of baggage will occur. It appears as if each Immigration officer makes a pre-determination on what kind of profile or category of passenger applies.

In the USA, the duty-free allowance or exemption from Customs Duty was raised from November 4, 2002 to $800 (from $400) for those who have not used the exemption in 30 days. This is not something noted on the Bermuda Government's official tourism website, perhaps for the reasons below.

In comparison, in Bermuda, returning residents are allowed an allowance of only US$100 (until 1989 it was US$400 a person, reduced in 1990/91 to US$250 a person and subsequently reduced yet again to the present US$100 per person) before they pay duty on items they bring but visitors are not entitled to such an allowance. Items brought in by visitors and residents that are not within their duty free category incur a stand import duty rate of 22.25% or over 33% of purchase cost, depending on category. Produce receipts from a retail store satisfactory to the Customs Department of actual purchase price of the items or be prepared for the Customs Department to assess items for your payment of duty at much higher Bermuda prices. This is applied vigorously. To avoid being arrested and having goods confiscated, do not try to import goods into Bermuda without paying the duty.

There is no "green light" or "nothing to declare" or quick pay-duty system, as in North American, Irish and European airports. This is irksome to British and European travelers used to their much quicker and less bureaucratic system, especially after a very tiring 7.5 hour flight from the UK, probably at least an hour's journey and a possible 2 hour Gatwick wait beforehand and with most passengers in only 31" seat pitch for those 7.5 hours.

Instead, you'll see a revenue-raising procedure you will never see at any other airport, a Customs Duty Payable counter at which to pay your exceedingly high rate of Customs Duty upfront if, as a Bermuda resident or visitor, you exceed your low $100 per person duty-free allowance.

Visitors may bring in, duty free for personal use only while they are in Bermuda, their clothes and articles like cameras, golf bags, 50 cigars or 200 cigarettes or 0.454 kilos (1 pound weight) tobacco; 1 liter of liquor or wine and a $30 gift allowance (compared to $100 in the USA) . If they bring in any more in gifts or their value, they can be charged a heavy rate of duty - over 25% of value - unlike in USA, Britain and Europe, where it does not matter whether your gifts are for yourself or a member of your family or associate or a complete stranger.

Declare a medically prescribed drug and show the doctor's or pharmacist's code on the prescription.

Behind the scenes, drug-sniffing dogs will check your baggage before it appears on carousels.

If at a hotel and with nothing illegal and with no items to declare, you may be waved through. If at a private home, you may be inspected.

It was reported in The Royal Gazette of Thursday, September 13, 2001, on page 9, that Bermuda Customs and Immigration have a long-standing practice of giving preferential treatment to local legislators returning from abroad. Most don't pay any duties and are exempted from lining-up, like other passengers.

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

The airport has several. These are portable devices that under medical supervision deliver a small electrical shock to restore normal heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that kills countless patients a year.

Baggage carts & skycaps

Baggage claims area

Arrivals hall. See "Moving Through the Years." An ornately designed mural by local artist Bruce Stuart at the history of transportation in Bermuda. Includes icons such as the Bermuda Clipper, Sea Venture, fast new ferry, policeman in birdcage and more.

BAS-Serco

A Bermudian joint venture company formed between Bermuda Aviation Services (BAS) Ltd and Serco Management Services Inc. It has provided air operations and facilities maintenances services at the airport, under contract to the Bermuda Government, since the US Naval Air Station closed in 1995. BAS-Serco employs approximately 50 staff providing air traffic control, ground electronics services, airport rescue and fire fighting, meteorological and aeronautical information services and airfield infrastructure maintenance.

Bermuda Aircraft Register

More than 170 aircraft are on this register, owned by foreign nationals but not allowed to operate in Bermuda in transportation of residents or visitors. Most are new, sophisticated and technically advanced corporate jets, owned by very high net worth individuals (such as Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, who has a lavish private home in Bermuda and flies to it frequently).

Bermuda Weather Service

The Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) is provided by BAS-Serco on contract with the Department of Air Operations. BWS operates as the island's National Meteorological Service and provides public and marine weather forecasts and warnings, in addition to the necessary data for the safe operation of aviation in Bermuda.

BWS supplies weather information to local newspapers, television stations, cable TV and marine users such as visiting yachts and Harbour Radio staff who relay the forecasts on Marine VHF Radio, weather channel 2. There is also a weather dial-up phone-in service available 24 hours a day, providing public and marine forecasts, current observations, warnings and tropical weather system information. The BWS also operates a website, www.weather.bm, which is extremely popular with both local residents and visitors.

Weather forecasters at BWS gather information from a variety of sources including numerical weather prediction models, imagery from the GOES Weather Satellite, weather balloons released twice a day and the local weather radar. A new S Band Doppler radar system will be installed later in 2003 which will facilitate improved tracking and prediction of hurricanes and storms up to 300 miles away from the island.

Catering facilities & franchises

Airport bars and restaurants are licensed to serve liquor under Bermuda's Liquor License Act 1974, Eastern District. They include:

Compliance with primary aviation legislation, ICAO Annexes, Standards and recommended practices

Legislation and International Standards

Means of Compliance by the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation (BDCA)

The following Bermuda Airworthiness Requirements (BARs), CAA Civil Aviation Publications (CAPs), Bermuda Civil Aviation Publications (BCAPs), Joint Aviation Regulations (JARs) and other documents are used by the BDCA as a declared means of compliance, appropriate to the Bermuda situation, in the areas specified:

Aircraft Maintenance, Airworthiness and Certification

Aircraft Operations

Aerodromes and Air Traffic Services

Personnel Licensing

Relevant Links to Aviation Organizations

Courier Customs Center

This serves DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express (Fedex), International Bonded Couriers (IBC) and United Parcel Service (UPS).

Customs

$100 Customs Duty exemption for returning residents, tourists $30, 25-30% payable on other overseas purchases

People who refuse to be searched at Customs on arrival at the airport or on a cruise ship or at any time near the airport or ports can be arrested under PACE laws, as part of legislation passed through the House of Assembly in December 2009. Earlier, such an offence fell outside the Police And Criminal Evidence Act. That loophole is now closed with the Police and Criminal Evidence Amendment (No. 2) Act 2009. PACE gives Police extra powers to stop and search people, enter and search premises, and arrest and detain people before charging them with offences.

Departures

Since December 25, 2009 when Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was en route from Amsterdam to Detroit and a Nigerian passenger allegedly tried but failed to detonate a bomb and the explosive PETN was found in his underwear, plus he also allegedly held a syringe filled with liquid acid, travellers can expect thorough searches of hand baggage and carry-on items as airport staff impose a security crackdown. Passengers at L. F. Wade International Airport will face delays and should allow for this additional time to check-in. The US Transportation Security Administration has initiated new screening measures for all US-bound flights, while US and Canadian airlines have also enforced stricter in-flight procedures. These include only allowing one piece of hand luggage on board and passengers to remain seated for the final hour of flight without any personal items on their laps. Existing restrictions on carry-on items such as liquids and creams remain in place. However, passengers will face tougher searches of carry-on baggage.

Passengers arrive at Departures by taxi or mini-bus or, if staying with friends, by private car. Areas designate each commercial airline serving Bermuda. On the ground floor are check-in facilities.

A fiber optic ring links the terminals with Bermuda Customs and Immigration computers.

Television monitors and flight display units give airline logo and departing flights information.

Most departing passengers are tourists. Others go on business or pleasure or to shop in the USA. Passengers check in at their airline counters. (See Airport Departure Taxes mentioned below).

Those more than 350,000 passengers, most of whom are returning US residents after vacationing in Bermuda but also including many Bermudians and non-Bermudians resident here, going to the USA have a major advantage. In Bermuda, before they leave, irrespective of nationality, they get US Customs and Immigration clearance.

It means that on arrival in the USA, they can pick up their baggage and go, having already gone through the Customs and Immigration procedures. This has been the case since 1974. They pay for it in Bermuda but it is a huge convenience.

Now, from 2009, while waiting to speak to a US customs and immigration officer, visitors and residents will be able to learn more about the longstanding relationship between the two countries from the newly-installed US-Bermuda Friendship Wall. The three-panel wall features key historical events and information about the longstanding US-Bermuda relationship that many visitors may not know. The permanent exhibit was unveiled in 2009 in celebration of Bermuda 400th anniversary by Airport general manager Aaron Adderley, US Consul General Gregory Slayton and Stephen Greenberg, Port Director for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Passengers who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear but those who attempt to enter the USA illegally will be stopped and arrested.

This has happened frequently in the case of Chinese and other nationals who were allowed entry into Bermuda from the United Kingdom by local Immigration officials and afterwards tried to enter the USA from Bermuda using false Japanese passports. They had been told, erroneously, that the USA was an easy place to get to via Bermuda for illegal entrants. Alert Bermuda-based US Customs and Immigration officials detected and stopped them from entering the USA from Bermuda and the Bermuda Government imprisoned them prior to deportation.

After checking in, those bound for Canada or United Kingdom are directed to their departure lounge on the ground floor. Unlike with the USA, passengers bound for Toronto or Halifax or London cannot pre-clear their Customs and Immigration. Instead, Canadian and British authorities require their passengers to wait until they arrive in those countries before they go through their Immigration and Customs procedures. It can be a very lengthy and tiresome procedure, especially at London's Gatwick.

Director of Music

He is engaged on a 3-year contract by the Bermuda Government's Department of Airport Operations (DAO). He and musicians he employs provide live musical entertainment with an Island Theme for arriving passengers on each arriving flight.

Disabled passengers

The British Government's Department for Transport's Access to air travel for disabled people: code of practice is not followed in Bermuda by the Bermuda Government. But a disabled passenger transporter that cost local taxpayers $94,000 was ordered and installed in August 2003. It was funded by the Passenger Facility Charge fee enacted that year of $4 per ticket. The diesel-powered unit elevates 20 feet off the ground to transport the disabled from terminal gates to the cabin of the aircraft or in reverse. It is fully enclosed, air-conditioned and can board as many as six wheel-chair bound passengers at one time. This was welcomed by the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association as a service for locals and visitors. To use the system, all disabled arriving or departing passengers must give prior notice to their airlines and should note that the system will not work at night without such prior requests.

Distances by parish

Note from the basic map below and the address of where you will be staying, whether it is close to or far from the airport. Depending on where it is, you may have to pay $60 or more (one way, not round-trip) per car for a 35 to 50 minute ride if you take a taxi from or to the airport.

Doppler Weather Radar System

It bounces radio waves off objects with a high powered antenna. It indicates the comparative velocity of rain drops and other precipitation in the atmosphere. It enables a meteorologist to detect potentially hazardous features such as squall lines and outbursts.

Executive and private Aircraft Handling Facility

On the northern side of the airport near Ferry Reach, this is specifically for owners or operators of executive smaller aircraft or corporate jets visiting Bermuda and any guests they bring. It has its own lounge, Bermuda Immigration and Customs and other services.

In July 2007, Bermuda Aviation Services (BAS) Ltd and its subsidiary Aircraft Services filed a writ against Premier Ewart Brown, in his role as Minister of Transport, and Attorney General Phil Perinchief, with the company claiming a breach of its exclusive rights to provide private jet services at L.F. Wade International Airport. According to BAS, their exclusivity deal has been extended to 2014, but new competitor the Sovereign Flight Support Ltd. has been given the green light to offer a rival service. Meanwhile Sovereign Flight Support Ltd. is going ahead with the conversion of a former US Air Force building on Southside into a private jet passenger terminal. The building has a 275,000 square-foot apron where private jets can be parked in addition to parking for 13 cars.

Fuels

The two fuel corporations allowed to operate retail sales locally are Esso Bermuda, a division of Exxon, and the Shell Company of Bermuda, a division of the British and Dutch giant. Fuels they offer are Esso Turbo A-1 or Shell Jet A-1. Oils available are Aeroshell Turbine Oil 390 and 500, and Esso Turbo Oil 2380. Aviation gasoline - for propeller-driven aircraft - is not available anywhere at the airport or anywhere else in Bermuda.

Any aircraft can use Bermuda. If it requires avgas, because it has a reciprocating engine, it will have to have enough range to travel to Bermuda and back from the USA on one tank of gas. Many propeller-driven aircraft have turbine engines that use the same A-1 fuels as turbojet engines.

Internet lounges

Ministry of Transport

The responsibility of the Ministry, headed by Minister of Tourism and Transport Dr. the Hon. Ewart Brown, JP, MP, is to manage and regulate transportation in Bermuda, including the airport, weather services, buses and ferries.

Retail shopping

For outgoing passengers. The Bermuda Government rents out duty-free shops in the Departures areas. Once USA passengers pass through the US Customs Pre Clearance Service and enter the USA Departures lounge, they cannot purchase goods which will attract US Import duties because of strict US Customs regulations. One Duty Free shop, on the ground floor, advertises liquor at 50 percent off retail prices. There is certainly a big saving on duty-free liquor compared to duty-paid at retail stores in Bermuda, Canada and United Kingdom prices. But New England, Pennsylvania and other US states residents should note that retail prices in their states for liquor may be about the same as Bermuda Duty Free prices for departing travelers.

Transportation

For further details on the following for tourists and business visitors, see Getting Around in Bermuda.

There are no shuttle buses, no courtesy hotel limos, no rental cars allowed and no buses for arriving or departing passengers equipped to take luggage. For most arriving and departing visitors with luggage, the only practical way is by taxi or minibus service for passengers going to hotels, guest houses and cottage colonies.

Mini-buses pick up by prior arrangement only, for able passengers only. Services are provided by:

Although adjacent to the ocean, there are not yet any scheduled water services to any guest properties, although some are envisaged in the foreseeable future.

Legal taxi rates in Bermuda

See under "Taxis" in Bermuda Transportation for Visitors." Depending on number of passengers, in US or Bermuda dollars. Fares are the same for non-disabled and disabled (handicapped in USA). There are now 650 taxis.

At the airport, regular public buses service the Departure area, not Arrivals area. They are excellent in terms of weekday frequency compared to many other places. But they were built for casual sightseer from overseas with no luggage and local commuters. They were not built with airport passengers in mind. They are not equipped to take passengers with luggage and cannot take the disabled in wheelchairs. They don't have special seating for disabled passengers who do not need wheelchairs but use a cane or crutch as they are too unsteady on their feet to stand. (Disabled persons in a wheelchair should always ask in advance of their arrival for a wheelchair-equipped taxi, of which there are quite a few. But they should note that when taxis are equipped to take a wheelchair, it may be for a manual wheelchair only, not an electric wheelchair).