The Airport is in good shape to be turned over to Bermuda, a consultant has told Government.

Bermuda recently hired Thompson-Hickling Aviation Inc. of Ottawa, Canada to help prepare for next June's departure of US Navy personnel who operate the Civil Air Terminal.

Although NAS Bermuda does not close until September of 1995, the Navy has said it will stop operating the Airport on June 1.

THA, hired for just under $100,000, recently handed Government a report which catalogues more than 800 pieces of Airport equipment -- from the air traffic control radar to a volt meter.

Mr. Edward Montgomery, the company president, said THA prepared detailed assessments of major Airport equipment. It determined what spare parts were available, whether equipment met International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, and what needed to be replaced. Which skills were needed to operate the equipment was also studied.

"The Airport is capable of a new operator assuming operation with minimum disruption -- in fact, no disruption,'' Mr. Montgomery told The Royal Gazette .

"The schedule is aggressive, but it's certainly feasible,'' he said.

"What we're talking about is not replacing a lot of equipment. We're talking about taking a service that is there already and changing the user.'' Formed in 1985, THA provides Airport services and consulting. The only Canadian company with an air traffic control licence, it operates the former military Airport at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons said that with the exception of some equipment which only served a military purpose, he understood the US Navy planned to leave all the Airport equipment behind.

A 30-year-old weather radar which would cost about $100,000 was the only major piece of Airport equipment that had to be replaced immediately, he said.

For warranty reasons, the Navy "may replace certain fire trucks with certain others,'' Sen. Gibbons said.

Other equipment was usable but might be replaced soon because it was built to military specifications and spare parts could be a problem. A schedule would be prepared.

Aside from capital costs, it is estimated a five-year contract to operate the Airport would cost $25 million to $50 million.

But Mr. Montgomery said Bermuda should also consider Airport revenues.

"An Airport is not just a cost centre,'' he said. "It could also be a revenue centre. Ideally, what you do is get your revenues higher than your costs.'' It was too soon to say whether that was feasible for Bermuda, he said.

Thompson-Hickling also determined what the requirements for the Airport would be after the US Navy withdrew. For decades, it was an Airport run by the military which also handled civilian traffic. Next year, it would be purely a civilian operation.

Air operations, including air traffic control; ground electronics system maintenance; aviation weather; crash, fire and rescue; and aeronautical information services -- would require about 70 Airport workers.

The company identified 25 requirements for the Airport, Mr. Montgomery said.

In arriving at its conclusions, THA spoke to commercial carriers who serve Bermuda.

Whether the Airport would continue to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, was among the options for Government outlined by THA. Another was whether the Airport's air traffic control would continue to serve aeroplanes within a 180-mile radius of Bermuda.

Many small airports operate air traffic control within a tighter radius, at lower cost.

But there were also good reasons for keeping the present radius, known as "en route'' air traffic control, Sen. Gibbons said. If the 180-mile control radius was kept, 24-hour manning of the control tower would likely continue as well.

Those decisions would be reflected in an "operational concept'' THA would develop by mid-June. It would tell exactly how the Airport would be run.

That document could be used by contractors bidding to operate the Airport. THA would also prepare a transition plan for the Airport takeover and recommend how the Airport could be Bermudianised, Sen. Gibbons said.

"That's not an insurmountable, nor even a particularly challenging task,'' Mr. Montgomery said. The skills required were "easily transferred to people.'' MR. EDWARD MONTGOMERY -- The president of Thompson-Hickling Aviation Inc.

said: "What we're talking about is not replacing a lot of equipment. We're talking about taking a service that is there already and changing the user.''