Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of swa ...

. It was privately owned until the government of the Bahamas purchased it in April 2021. The airport was a joint venture between

Hutchison Port Holdings Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH; ), trading as Hutchison Ports (), is a private holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The port operator group is a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings (formerly Hutchison Whampoa). Some ...

(HPH) and The Port Group (or the

Grand Bahama Port Authority The Grand Bahama Port Authority ( GBPA or "Port Authority") is a privately held corporation that also acts as the municipal authority for Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas. The GBPA was created by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. The GBP ...

). The facility also includes of land that adjoins it to the Freeport Harbour Company Limited as they operate as one entity, known as the Sea Air Business Centre (SABC).

Facilities

The airport has a runway which is capable of handling the largest aircraft in service and is relatively close to all major cities of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Some other features that are available at the Grand Bahama International Airport are: # VOR system # PAPI (Precision approach path indicator) system # Distance-remaining markers # Category seven fire fighting facilities # General aviation services # Air conditioned passenger terminal (Set temp: 28 degrees C)

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Accidents and incidents

*On 12 November 1964,

Lockheed Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the ai ...

N171Q stalled after take-off and was destroyed by fire in the subsequent crash, killing all four people on board. *On 22 November 1966, de Havilland DH.125 N235KC of

Florida Commuter Airlines Florida Commuter Airlines was a small U.S. regional airline based out of Palm Beach International Airport that evolved directly from Roberson Air, Inc., which did business as Red Baron Airlines. This happened when Dr. Rudolph P. Scheerer bough ...

crashed into the sea off Grand Bahamas during an illegal flight from

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. *On 24 November 1979, Convair 440-86 N444JM of

Mackey International Airlines Mackey Airlines, Inc., later known as Mackey International Airlines, was a United States airline that primarily served Florida and The Bahamas. At one point, the airline also operated Douglas DC-8 jetliners in scheduled passenger service betwee ...

was on an international non-scheduled passenger flight to

Fort Lauderdale International Airport A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

when the starboard engine caught fire just after take-off. On approach to Grand Bahamas International, the engine fell off. On landing, the aircraft departed the runway and ended up in the sea. All 46 people on board escaped from the aircraft. *On 12 September 1980,

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

A N75KW of Florida Commuter Airlines, operating a scheduled international passenger flight from

West Palm Beach International Airport Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, which it serves as the primary airport for. It is also the primary airport for most of ...

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

, United States to Grand Bahama International Airport crashed into the sea off West End. All 34 on board were killed. *On 20 July 2000, Douglas C-47A N54AA of Allied Air Freight suffered an engine failure on take-off from Grand Bahama International Airport on a cargo flight to Nassau International Airport, Bahamas. The aircraft crashed while attempting to return to Grand Bahama International and was destroyed. Both crew were killed. *On 9 November 2014, a Lear 36 Executive Jet crashed on approach to the airport. All nine people on board perished, including evangelist Myles Munroe and his wife. *On 7 February 2017, a Western Air Saab 340 passenger aircraft landing gear failed shortly after takeoff. The aircraft turned around and crashed landed at the airport. All 30 passengers survived and 2 sustained minor injuries. *From September 1–3, 2019, the airport was pelted by

Hurricane Dorian Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas, and tied for strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is also reg ...

, leaving the airport under six feet of water and heavily damaged. *On 24 October 2020, An American Eagle ERJ-145LR (N674RJ) operating as Envoy Air Flight 4194 from Miami to Freeport had a runway excursion upon landing. Nobody was injured in the crash. The aircraft had suffered main gear damage, and the left main broke off.

References

{{authority control Airports in the Bahamas Airports with United States border preclearance Buildings and structures in Freeport, Bahamas