BAHAMAS GATEWAYS
South Florida to Nassau & Exuma:
MYNN, MYEF and the yacht.
Nassau and Exuma are the two Bahamas airports that anchor most yacht weeks in this guide. The Florida end is KOPF, KFXE, KAPF or KDJT. The stage is short. The paperwork and the baggage door are not.
Begin your charter brief
MYNN and MYEF are ports of entry to confirm, not automatic permissions.
THE STAGE
Short miles, real paperwork
KOPF, KFXE, KAPF and KDJT to MYNN or MYEF sit in a band of about 160 to 295 nautical miles. Block time is often discussed from about 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Use both figures as planning bands. A headwind, a routing over weather or a runway performance issue belongs to the carrier. This page does not convert distance into a wheel-up time.
Nassau LYNDEN Pindling is MYNN. Exuma International is MYEF. They serve different yacht weeks. Nassau is the usual deep-water start. Exuma puts you closer to the cays and still requires a transfer to the actual marina. Read the Exumas itinerary before you choose the airport for the photographs.
APIS and eAPIS are the operator’s filing, using passenger data you must supply in time. A missing passport detail delays the aircraft even when the yacht is ready. Send legal names early, and keep the document images in a channel the carrier accepts. Do not put full document numbers in the public form if you can send them securely afterward.
| From | To | Distance band | What to add |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOPF, KFXE, KAPF or KDJT | MYNN Nassau | About 160–295 nm | Customs port confirmation and marina transfer |
| Same Florida fields | MYEF Exuma | Inside the same family of short stages | Which cay marina the car can reach |
| Either island airport | Back to Florida | The return is a second clearance | Do not assume the outbound window works inbound |
| Light jet or turboprop | Either field | Door size versus dive gear | Measure bottles, boards and cases |
THE AIRCRAFT
Turboprop doors and light-jet speed
On a stage this short, the baggage door can matter more than the cruise speed. The light jet page and the turboprop page are the comparison. A Phenom 300E reference and a PC-12 reference answer different packing lists.
If the group is large enough to need a midsize cabin for the island hop, say why. Comfort can be the reason. Pretending a short hop needs a heavy jet usually means the heavy jet was already in Florida for a different trip. The quote should show that positioning honestly.
The yacht does not meet the aircraft at the runway. Budget the island transfer the way the Florida destination pages budget 12 to 40 minutes. Exuma transfers vary with the marina. Nassau marina traffic is its own delay.
THE BRIEF
Flight contract, yacht contract
All flights are operated by properly licensed direct air carriers. The Exumas yacht, if you add one, is a separate agreement and may include 10% Bahamas VAT and applicable Bahamas Port Department charter fees (confirmed per vessel in the written charter agreement) Confirm that wording in the yacht contract rather than inventing a combined tax.
ALINARI is the broker. The form reaches charter@alinariairandsea.com and does not reserve the aircraft.
PLANNING DOSSIER
Nassau and Exuma packing notes
A case of wine is weight and glass. Say if it must fly or if the yacht APA should buy it in Nassau.
Dive tanks may be refused. Many boats fill tanks on board. Ask before you dedicate the baggage hold to steel.
MYNN and a Nassau marina slip for a deep-draft yacht is a different plan from a catamaran mooring in the cays. Name the hull.
Sunday returns into KFXE or KOPF need the Florida customs window as carefully as the Bahamas arrival.
Children’s car seats and a stroller can erase the advantage of a light jet. Mention them.
If half the party is already in Nassau, the aircraft may be a ferry for two people and a pile of bags. Price that mission, not a full cabin you do not have.
Weather diversions between MYNN and MYEF are the captain’s and the carrier’s choice. Build a flexible marina day.
Email only: charter@alinariairandsea.com.
If the yacht week starts at Highbourne Cay rather than a Nassau marina, landing at MYNN can still be right, but only with a water or road plan the captain accepts. Landing at MYEF can be right for Staniel and wrong for Highbourne. Put the first night’s anchorage in the flight note. Airport convenience and yacht convenience are not the same sentence.
MYEF looks close to the cays on a chart and can still be an hour from the marina you want. Ask the captain for the transfer, not the airport cafe. If the yacht is at Staniel Cay, say so. A Nassau landing plus a long water transfer can erase the advantage of the shorter flight.
Dive compressors, kite boards and a case of sparkling wine should be listed as three lines, with the longest dimension on the board. The operator can then choose a door. A sentence that says we have toys is how a light jet gets booked and then refused.
Return paperwork is where Saturdays fail. The same passenger list that cleared into MYNN must be ready again for KFXE or KOPF, and the yacht disembarkation has to finish before that filing’s practical cutoff. Build the last swim accordingly.
ISLAND FLIGHT QUESTIONS
Customs, minutes and gear.
How long is the flight from Miami or Naples to Nassau or Exuma?
Plan the great-circle family around 160 to 295 nautical miles, and a block-time conversation around 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Those are corridor bands. The operator’s number is the one guests should hear.
Which airport clears customs?
MYNN and MYEF are widely used ports of entry, along with MYEH, MYAM and MYBS on other routes. Clearance still depends on the aircraft, the hours and the filing. Confirm it. Do not treat the code as permission.
What is an APIS or eAPIS timeline?
Private international flights need advance passenger information filed by the operator on the government’s clock, not in the car to the FBO. Names and document details have to be ready early enough for that filing. ALINARI does not file the manifest.
Will dive gear fit a light jet?
Only if the door and the hold of the offered aircraft say so. Send the longest item’s dimensions. A turboprop with a larger door can beat a faster jet that cannot take the tanks.
ROUTE AND ITINERARY GUIDES
Match the airport to the week on the water.
DIRECT CHARTER & CONTACT INQUIRY
Send a Charter Brief to Ross Alinari.
Nassau and Exuma flight notes go to charter@alinariairandsea.com. Include the Florida code and MYNN or MYEF.
YOUR INQUIRY IS RECEIVED
Thank you for writing to us.
Your reference
Keep your reference for follow-up with the Private Charter Desk.
A MORE CONSIDERED BEGINNING
Bring the details
together.
Name the Florida field, MYNN or MYEF, and what must fit through the baggage door for the yacht.
Build your charter brief