A target of 400,000 air arrivals within three years is just one of the five Bermuda Tourism goals that Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown announced on Monday afternoon.

But, with roughly 270,000 air arrivals in 2004, how will the airport ? and Customs and Immigration ? cope with the leap of nearly 130,000 passengers, almost 2,000 more per day than in 2004?

Well, they?ve done it before, Director of Airport Operations Jim Howes told yesterday.

In the mid-90s, Mr. Howes said, the airport was processing around 400,000 arrivals per year. In 1992, touted as ?the worst year for tourism since 1973?, air arrivals stood at roughly 375,000.

By the end of 1993, they were back up to just below 395,000, Mr. Howes explained, adding: ?We feel the airport can handle it. So long as they?re not at the same time, we should be in pretty good shape.?

Some renovations to the physical plant are planned, he said ? but for the most part, it will be a matter of timing. If the flights are spread out over the day the airport will be capable of handling the increases.

Minister of Home Affairs Randy Horton, who heads up the Immigration Department, said Immigration has taken steps to ensure the Referrals area is fully manned.

?The manning of the Primary Immigration Line at Bermuda International Airport is the responsibility of the Collector of Customs, whilst the Department of Immigration is responsible for Secondary Immigration, otherwise known as Referrals,? he said via e-mail yesterday.

?I am able to confirm that the Department of Immigration has anticipated the increase in visitors and has taken steps to ensure that the Referrals area will be fully manned.?

Continued rotation of resources will be key, he said. ?Principal Officers and Senior Inspectors regularly rotate between Bermuda International Airport and Immigration?s head office in Hamilton.

?This rotation of staff allows the Department of Immigration the flexibility to allocate resources where they are most needed.

?Additionally, in anticipation of the increased arrivals, the Department of Immigration has been given approval for funding to hire relief staff during the busy season to ensure that Secondary Immigration at the airport is fully staffed.

?It is of interest to note that I was in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, last week for a meeting that focused in part upon the need for improved Immigration and Customs security in the Caribbean and throughout the world, including Bermuda, that resulted from the horrors of 911.

?However, Bermuda residents and visitors alike can be assured that both the Department of Immigration and HM Customs will take every available measure to ensure that the critically important arrivals process at the airport is carried out as effectively and as expeditiously as possible.?

Like Immigration, Customs will have to look at each change in flights and air arrivals as it occurs, assess the impact, and adapt to it, Assistant Collector for Travellers and Enforcement Joan Crown said.

The number of posts in Customs is legislated, she added, making it difficult to increase the number of staff in the Department. ?We will have to look at all areas operating to ensure the best use of existing resources to maintain our service levels,? she said.

?At this point, we haven?t seen a significant increase in air arrivals. There have been significant changes in flights, which have definitely have an impact, but what we really need to do is more research.?

Restaurants already existing at the airport will have to extend their hours to accommodate the increased numbers of air arrivals and new flight schedules, Mr. Howes said.

Some will undergo renovations. The cocktail lounge on the second level of US departures, for example, will be completely renovated over the next three months and re-opened in April, he said, adding: ?There will be other improvements along the road in the future.?

Hours will have to be extended elsewhere in the airport also ? particularly with the introduction of new Continental flights to and from Newark. Previously, the American Airlines flight from JFK had the honour of being the last flight to touch down on Bermuda soil every day at approximately 10 p.m.

That honour will now go to Continental, Mr. Howes said. The plane will touch down around 10.20 p.m., spend the night on the tarmac, and depart again at 6.45 a.m. ? also becoming the earliest flight out of Bermuda each day.

That will require some changes, particularly in the morning. ?US Customs will have to open at 5.30 a.m.,? Mr. Howes said. ?They?ve already agreed to that, so they?ll have to make some adjustments. We will also ? the control tower currently opens at 7 a.m., so that will have to open earlier.?

?The number 400,000 is a goal that won?t be attained overnight,? he concluded. ?We do have time to adjust. I am quite confident we can handle it.?