Bahamasair slams ‘misleading’ reports on secret immigrant flights, denies allegations

Bahamas: The national flag carrier of the Bahamas, Bahamasair, has slammed local media outlets who claimed that the airline’s two flights secretly transported around 374 immigrants from the United States to the island nation.  

Through a press statement on Tuesday morning, the airline called the claims regarding recent flights into the Lynden Pindling International Airport as ‘misleading’. The airline slammed the publications who spread this narrative and claimed that these are entirely inaccurate and lack any factual basis. 

Notably, it was alleged that Bahamasair has secretly brought in two flights with around 374 immigrants including Bahamian citizens from America and the Bahamas government is assisting with the deportation of Haitian nationals back to Haiti.  

The allegations further added that persons at the LPIA airport in the Bahamas witnessed this but there were no media houses in sight. “In fact, The Bahamas Times has been reliably informed that the media were not allowed or informed,” alleged the local publication.  

However, the airline has refuted these claims saying that as the national flag carrier of the Bahamas, Bahamasair operates in full compliance with all government regulations and global aviation protocols. It added that no such flights were conducted as described and neither were there any covert activity involving foreign nationals.  

The statement continued to say that all flights of Bahamasair are transparently logged and follow strict operational standards, and this ensures accountability both to the government and the public.  

The officials of the airline emphasised that they acknowledge the significance of accurate information and assured the public that Bahamasair continues to prioritize the needs and interests of the locals and the wider public. They further encouraged the public or anyone to verify information through credible sources first before sharing them online and putting unsubstantiated allegations.  

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It is being believed that the recent manifesto launched by newly elected President Donald Trump to carry out mass deportation of illegal immigrants from US might have fuelled these allegations. The official list of these individuals has been released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement which shows that 426 Bahamians are among the 1.4 million non-citizens with final orders of removal from America.  

It is not yet clear when or how these nationals from the Bahamas will be sent back and there is still no word from the government whether or not they will be accepting them.