Aviation authorities in Bermuda have still to decide on whether to give the go-ahead for a new airline operating out of the Island.

Last year, Bermuda Star unveiled plans to fly to the United States, Britain and Europe.

The fledgling company needs to be licensed in Bermuda by the Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) and be given regulatory approval by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

However, CAA technical officers have still not made a recommendation to the ATLB to allow them to make a decision, said board chairman Austin Thomas last night.

And until the board receives the information, it cannot decide whether to licence Bermuda Star.

Mr. Thomas told The Royal Gazette that the CAA requested additional information from Bermuda Star in December, but the last time he checked - last month - the CAA had not made a recommendation to the board.

"We have the matter pending until we hear from their (CAA) technical officers," said Mr. Thomas.

"There are a number of matters that we must ensure are undertaken for consideration of a licence and until the information to support that has been submitted to us, we have to wait for it.

"It is out of our hands as we have not had a response. As far as we are able to understand from them (CAA), they are not in a position to make a recommendation to us."

Leopold Kuchler, the Austrian honorary consul in Bermuda, and his wife Cynthia, applied to incorporate Bermuda Star as a Bermuda company in May last year.

The airline plans to fly daily to Newark, New Jersey, and Chicago, three times a week to Manchester, England, and Cologne, Germany, and twice a week to Orlando, Florida on a seasonal basis.