tolerated, Government Senate Leader Lynda Milligan-Whyte claimed last night.

She was speaking after PLP Sen. Terry Lister called it acceptable for the newly-civilianised Island airport to operate at a loss.

Sen. Lister said: "Buses and ferries operate at a loss -- we are comfortable as a country to have a bus service which costs us money and there is nothing wrong with that.

"The Airport is the tunnel all the benefits of tourism flow through. We may never get an Airport which pays us $14-20 million dollars a year so it can break even. It would be foolish to set that as a goal.'' He was speaking as the Senate debated the Government's plan to charge airlines a total of 96 cents per passenger over two years for US Customs pre-clearance.

Sen. Lister added that "niggling taxes'' made the Airport less attractive and small charges, by the time they are passed to the visitor, could be much bigger.

But Sen. Milligan-Whyte said Sen. Lister's views were "absolutely laughable''.

She added: "All over the world, Governments are looking at privatisation -- people are saying they want a leaner Government because they don't want to be taxed to pay for it.'' She said: "If it means the taxpayer pays less out of his pocket because we have found a way to finance the development of the Airport without going to the taxpayer, that's good.'' She added that Bermuda had been told it is "entirely suited'' to becoming a major "hub'' airport -- an international terminal where travellers arrived only to go on elsewhere.

Sen. Milligan-Whyte said that negative publicity over violence in Miami meant that airlines were now looking at Bermuda. Miami is a major through-port for flights to the Caribbean and Central and South America.

She said: "We should be creative and looking a ways and means firstly to be self-sufficient then profitable and if we can generate a new revenue and new business, that's fabulous.'' UBP Sen. Larry Scott said that Airport customs charges had never been considered before, but that legislation dating to 1949 had a provision to charge for the service.

He added that the pre-clearance service offered in Bermuda by US Customs had several advantages.

He said: "Bermuda is considered a domestic gate for the American airlines, as opposed to an international gate.'' Sen. Scott said that the distinction meant that travellers from Bermuda were cleared at their US destinations in around 30 minutes, compared to 75 minutes for international travellers.

He added that the small charge proposed would cover much of the cost of the US Customs branch at the airport.

Senators agreed that a message be sent to the Governor saying Senate had approved the measure.

But Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) said that he feared the 96 cents charge would find its way on to the price of an airline ticket, but up to three or four dollars.

He added: "It's not a lot, but we should be concerned about every increase in the cost of travelling to Bermuda in 1996.'' He said: "I continue to be shocked at how badly our tourism is performing -- we didn't expect it to get to this level.'' See Page 5 for more Senate coverage Sen. Lynda Milliagan-Whyte