Station to Bermuda, said that the US Navy would like to cease the vital air traffic control at the Airport by June of 1995 in preparation for leaving Bermuda by September of 1995. At first reading that seems to be far enough away to be comfortable. In fact, it gives Bermuda very little time.

We were very surprised by the figures involved. The US Navy uses 150 to 200 people to supply Airport services. Many of them are trained people which Bermuda does not have. The US Navy has 32 air traffic controllers supplying a 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year service. Even if you assume that Bermuda will not supply as extensive an airport service as the US Navy supplies, it will still have to supply service 365 days of the year because it has commercial air traffic every day.

The costs will be extensive. What Bermuda has received free from the United States ever since the Second World War it will now pay for itself. The US Navy has estimated a $10-million-a-year cost.

Bermuda will be unable to raise money directly at the Airport because it already uses the controversial departure tax as part of the regular Budget. It would be unpopular with locals and visitors if that tax were increased.

Aircraft landing fees are similarly high and Bermuda would probably risk real problems with the airlines servicing Bermuda if we increased their landing costs.

It seemed to us that Dr. Gibbons was telling Bermuda that we are not in the end going to run Kindley Field. He told this newspaper that we will likely hire contractors to perform most Airport services. Dr. Gibbons said that the short time frame for taking over the Airport made hiring contractors the most likely option. A contract would have to be in place by early fall.

Dr. Gibbons said, "We'll be looking at each function to determine which of those we may try to do ourselves and which we may wish to contract out.'' He thought that Bermuda might choose to provide firefighting itself. That, of course, might give Bermuda a chance to sort out the general problems of fire service at the East End.

We will have to be sure that we give the contract to run Kindley Field to someone competent. That may well not mean the cheapest contract. We cannot take chances with the airfield and must be sure that it runs smoothly from the beginning. Bermuda simply does not have the expertise to do that and to run it ourselves there would inevitably be a period of trial and error.

It seems eminently sensible to buy someone else's expertise to get our job done, certainly in the early years. It may be that in the process Bermuda will become expert and able to run Kindley Field itself.