Passenger numbers at Bermuda International Airport have slumped by 40 percent since Hurricane Fabian hit the Island, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Around $6.5 million of damage was caused to the Airport complex when the storm hit but it is the loss of passengers, already more than 3,000 fewer arrivals, that will be the most costly blow to the Island.

A US Airways night flight due to be introduced just two days after the storm will not now operate until next April while other services are being halted earlier for the off-season as Americans lose interest in visiting Bermuda.

Airport manager James Howes has also revealed how he thought they may have to introduce an emergency terminal in the NATO hangar when he first surveyed the post-Fabian damage 25 days ago.

"The off-season has come early," Mr. Howes told The Royal Gazette.

"Passengers loads are way-off. There has been significant drop in numbers since the storm with the loss of two flights a day accounting for maybe half of that.

"As an airport we are able to operate night flights but due to the Causeway closure we are effectively isolated after dark, so there is no point in bringing in the planes.

"Unfortunately the night flights are the most popular, nearly always operating at full capacity, but we have lost the daily American Airlines flight and the new service from LaGuardia with US Airways has not yet come on line.

"It was due to be launched on September 7 but they have decided now to hold off all the way through until next April."

As well as the loss for six months of the LaGuardia flight, the Boston service will be cut short a week early for its winter break and the supposedly year-round Washington-Reagan service will be halted on October 25. The shortage of incoming passengers, currently down from 3,000 to 2,000 for the weeks since the storm, will be costing the Island dear in both passenger tax and the knock-on effects of fewer visitors spending their money on the Island. "I have taken calls from hotels angry about the lack of night flights" continued Mr. Howes.

"They say that it is killing them without these extras passengers coming in. I hate to think what the drop in numbers represents for other businesses here."

But on a positive note, he revealed that, year-on-year, numbers for October were looking healthier, although there would still be a 20 percent drop due to the continuing absence of the all-important night flights.

More than 10,000 square feet of terminal roof was damaged the night Fabian inflicted its wrath on the Island and debris, including even a palm tree, were strewn across the check-in areas as the doors failed to withstand the sea surges and high winds.

More than half the Airport's computer equipment was wiped out and usable space in the terminal was slashed by a similar amount.

A six-man crew from the Federal Aviation Authority are flying in from New York today to help carry out repair work on the damaged radar system with technicians from England, the US and Canada having already arrived to work on damaged X-ray machines.

Mr. Howes said it would be six weeks before pre-Fabian equipment capacity would be reached and revealed the structural repairs to airport buildings would not be completed until next March.

He added that queuing time at the Airport had changed little due to the storm as the passengers numbers had slumped so much that even with only a third of check-in desks available, staff could still comfortably cope.

Although he was confident it would be a structurally more sound airport by the time the next peak season comes around.

"The roofs are only able to withstand 60mph winds but as part of the repair work, we are going to ensure that, in future, they will be able to withstand 120 mph ones," he said.

He said that six security staff spent the night in the Airport during the storm and added that he was proud of fellow employees and the Bermuda Regiment for the way they coped with the clean-up operation and how they managed to get the airport fully operational within 72 hours. But he revealed that when he first saw the damage on the Saturday morning, he thought he might need to bring the emergency terminal building into use.

"We have a contingency plan to cover the total destruction of the main terminal," he added.

"The NATO hangar on the north side of the Airport can be used if need be. There are check-in terminals there as well as stored seating. At one stage I thought we may have to bring that into use although that proved not to be the case."