Market notes
On chartering from Nassau
The Bahamas is the closest genuinely international private-jet destination to the United States, and the numbers show why it works. Nassau's Lynden Pindling International is 45 to 55 minutes of block time from Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale or Miami Opa Locka, with a 3,358 m main runway and roughly 90,182 aircraft movements a year. For most of the winter season the traffic is a shuttle: full aircraft southbound on Friday, empty northbound on Sunday, and the reverse at the end of a stay.
Odyssey Aviation on Coral Harbour Road is the reference FBO at Nassau and the practical reason to route your first arrival through NAS. Customs and immigration are handled inside the building rather than in the commercial terminal, the facility runs 24 hours, and its two 25,000 sq ft hangars are rated to take a G650 or Global Express. The ramp itself is sized for aircraft up to A340 scale, so the airport places no meaningful limit on aircraft choice. Jet Aviation also operates at Nassau and Nassau Flight Services provides handling.
Beyond Nassau, the Out Islands are a different operating environment and should be planned as one. Exuma International has a 2,134 m runway and takes most light and midsize jets, which is why many Florida departures fly straight there. Marsh Harbour at 1,524 m is realistically turboprop and light jet only, and it is the gateway to Abaco and the Hope Town and Baker's Bay properties. Grand Bahama has a 3,355 m runway but its facilities were badly damaged in 2019 and have been restored in stages, so services should be confirmed rather than assumed. Most of these fields work on published daylight hours, not around the clock.
Two rules shape almost every Bahamas itinerary. First, an aircraft arriving from abroad must land initially at a designated port of entry, which means Nassau, Exuma, Marsh Harbour or Grand Bahama rather than a private cay strip. Second, hurricane season from June to November is a genuine planning factor, not a formality. Between December and April the risk profile is different and the constraint becomes ramp space instead, with Christmas, New Year and Easter needing several weeks of lead time for parking and hangarage across the islands.
