Flamingo International Airport

History

Bonaire's first airport was located near Tra'i Montaña Subi Blanku and crossed the current road from Kralendijk to Rincon. It was only a landing strip and a shelter. It was built in 1936 and is considered the place that is the beginning of aviation on Bonaire.

The construction work for this airport began on September 23, 1935. The intention was to make a longer runway, but it proved impossible to accommodate for more than 475 meters, because the eastern portion of the land was very low. Part of the field had to be modified, in particular where the plane hit the ground during landing and take-off. This area covered more than 100 metres of the runway, and had to be paved with a mixture of sand and stone.

KLM decided on May 9, 1936, to take the risk and fly the first flight to Bonaire from Curaçao. The Oriol (Fokker F-XVIII "Snip"), was chosen for this test. The first experimental landing was successful and also a historic moment. KLM made the first official flight with passengers on May 31, 1936.

American soldiers arrived on Bonaire in the second half of 1943 and their commander stated that a new airport had to be built. In December 1943, construction began in the vicinity of where the airport is today. The new airport, named "Flamingo Airport", was put into use in 1945. This was a big step forward for Bonaire and its aviation system. A small terminal was built that was suitable for the number of passengers at the time. This building was used until 1976.

The construction of a new runway began in the last months of 1953 and was completed in 1955. The small terminal had been extended with a terrace where luggage could be delivered. The runway was extended and expanded several times. In 1960, the runway had a length of 1430 meters and a width of 30 meters. Hotels and interested parties on the island continued to push for a further extension of the runway so that charter flights from the United States were able to land here. Those flights were often performed with DC8 or B707 aircraft.

In 1970 the runway was extended to a length of 1750 meters and a width of 30 meters, enough for a DC9 to land and take-off with full load. On June 7, 1974, a public tender for the construction of a new terminal building was made. The building became operational in 1976. Meanwhile, hotels and foreign investors continued to insist that the runway be extended further. This was needed before any more hotels could be built. In 1980 the runway was again extended to 2400 meter long and 45 meters wide, and in 2000 another extension resulted in the current length of 2880 meter to facilitate the largest airliners on intercontinental flights.

The Dutch national carrier, KLM, used the airport to refuel planes en route from Amsterdam to Ecuador using MD-11 between 2000 and 2011.

Overview

The first Bonaire-Miami flight took place on April 19, 1980, possible since the runway extension of that year. The current runway of 2880m is long enough for flights to Europe with a maximum take-off weight. KLM began with flights to Peru and later to Ecuador with a fuelstop on Bonaire in 2002. In recent years, the facilities at the airport have been modernized and expanded. There is a new departure hall, a new platform for wide body aircraft and a fuel farm was also added. As of 2009, Flamingo Airport is a full service stop for transit flights and the destination for many tourist flights, with air-conditioned offices, restaurant, departure hall and stores.

The airport registered a more than 10% increase in passengers in the first quarter of 2008. March was a record month and the increase has a lot to do with the Delta and Continental Airlines flights. Compared to the same period last year also the local passengers increased by 10.6%. International traffic increased by 8.8% which is breakthrough for the airport for Bonaire.

Since November 2005, visitors and tourists arrving at Bonaire are welcomed to a vibrant new Business and Tourism Showcase. A variety of colorful murals, vivid flat-panel displays, and high-profile sponsored windsurfing sails will showcase all that the island of Bonaire has to offer. Pennsylvania-based Interspace Airport Advertising, through its subsidiary, Interspace Airport Advertising Curaçao, N.V., created the new terminal-wide advertising display program. Interspace will also manage the program through a 10-year partnership with the airport authority.

The airport has two main ramps. The smaller ramp, which is situated in front of the airport building, consist of 4 Parking Positions (PP1, PP2, PP3 and PP4) and is naimly used by smaller operating aircraft such as, Divi Divi, EZAir, and Insel Air, as well as private aircraft with short ground times, along with the larger Delta, United and Arkefly aircraft when the larger apron is in use by another large aircraft. The larger one is used for wide bodied aircraft such as KLM and Arkefly, but is also used by United, Delta and Insel Air, when vacant. The Larger ramp consist of two parking spots (PP5 and PP6). The management of the airport is currently working on the apron to allow two wide-bodied aircraft to park alongside each other, with the use of pushback cars, when ready for departure. At the beginning of the runway, lies the General Aviation's ramp, where mostly private aircraft are located. Due to overcrowding of the GA Ramp, some private aircraft utilize the larger ramp, at PP6 to park when overnighting and long stays.

In the past, the airport has been served by Air ABC, Air ALM, Air Aruba, Air Europe (Italy), Air Jamaica, American Eagle (Executive Airlines), Avensa, Avior Airlines, BonAir/Chapi Air, Bonaire Express/Curaçao Express (later Dutch Antilles Express), Canada 3000, Cats Air, Dutch Caribbean Airlines, E-Liner Airways, Kavok Airlines, LASER Airlines, Línea Turística Aereotuy, Martinair, Miami Air International, Rainbow Air, Royal Aruban Airlines, Servivensa, Sobelair, Surinam Airways and Tiara Air.

BonAeroClub also offers sightseeing opportunities and also flight lessons with their Cessna 172.

Parking system and charges

Since May 2008, Bonaire International Airport (BIA) has started with the renovation of the parking places at Flamingo Airport. The airport introduces short- and long-term paid parking. Financial manager Gerard Chin-A-Lien indicated that the project will cost US$2.1 million. Most of this money will be spent on paving, installing the automatic parking system, landscaping, and lighting. This service official started on 5 September 2008. It is not possible to drop off passengers for free since August 2009 as you have to pay 1 guilder for the first 30 minutes and 1 guilder for each 30 minutes after that with a maximum of 20 guilders per day. Long parking costs 10 guilders per day. According to security manager Tico Wanga, a lot of attention is paid to safety with sufficient lights and cameras everywhere, and patrolling security personnel.

Check-in system and airport tax fee

In October 2008, Bonaire introduced the new CUTE system from SITA. CUTE stands for Common Use Terminal Equipment. This is a common use system whereby all airlines can use each of the 12 available check-in counters at Flamingo Airport. More flexibility is obtained while the processing capacity of passengers at the check-in counters is increased and made more efficient. The older check-in system worked with so-called dedicated check-in counters which were usable by only one particular airline and could not be used by other airlines, thus restricting processing capacity.

Due to the introduction of this new system, Bonaire International Airport N.V. will charge each departing passenger a service charge, starting December 1, 2008. This service charge amounts to 3.00 guilders (about US$1.69) and will be added to the existing passenger facility charge (airport tax). As of October 2010, all airport taxes have been integrated within all purchased tickets for all Airlines (except for BonAir).

Plans

It is planned to expand the current airport building, including the current arrival and departure hall, as more airlines and tourists come to Bonaire. It is also plannedd to repair the airport's runway after certain speculations that the runway had a crack in it. The Dutch Transport Minister, Camiel Eurlings, calculates that it will cost about €20 million (57 million guilders) to repair Bonaire's worn-out Flamingo International Airport runway. Since Bonaire is now the responsibility of the Netherlands, including ownership of the airport, it must comply with European standards, which are much stricter than the ICAO standards. Recently, the worldwide civil aviation authority conducted an audit on all of the airports within the Dutch Kingdom (including the rest of the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) and said that they are just within standards. "Regarding the condition of the airport of Bonaire, there is no need to panic, there is no acute danger, only overdue maintenance. The runway needs heavy renovations and the people of Bonaire need a vital airport," concluded Eurlings.

The management of the airport is drawing up a master plan to comply with international requirements. There are three important projects planned which include:

1. Maintenance of the runway, as mentioned above (Already completed as of 2012)
2. Moving the fire station to the middle of the runway (Currently in progress)
3. Purchasing two push-back cars for the heavy jets (One already purchased and in-use with KLM flights)

Management is working very hard to make sure that Bonaire International Airport is as safe as possible and this way could welcome the aircraft that come to Bonaire and contribute to the growth of the tourism on the island.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled services to and from Bonaire:

Notes

^1 KLM's flights operate to and from Aruba on selected days. However, the airline does not have cabotage rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba and Bonaire.

^2 TUI Airlines Netherlands's flights operate between Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao on selected days. However, the airline does not have cabotage rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

Statistics

Note: The extrapolated data for 2008 are calculated without taking seasonal influences into account. nyk:not yet known

Historical statistics

Between 2000 and 2003 the airport saw a ongoing grow in passengers and freight but some decline since 2004

Runway and approach

The single runway 10/28 is 2,880 m × 45 m (9,449 ft × 148 ft). The actual heading is 92° or 272°. For runway 10 a Simple Approach Landing System is in place, for runway 28 no visual approach aids are available. Lighting of runway complies with all current regulations and back-up power system is available.

Reported/official runway-dimensions:

Flamingo International Airport operates a Non-directional beacon on 321 KHz and a VHF Omnidirectional Range on 115 MHz

Catering

Apart from the passenger terminal Bonaire Airport has facilities for freight and mail. Catering is available since Goddard Catering opened an airline kitchen on the island in 2003 offering complete airline catering. The Aruba kitchen uses ready-made imported frozen hot meals and locally made salads and appetizers. Since March 31, 2015, Goddard Catering has closed down its operations in Bonaire as KLM made a decision to move all of its catering services to Aruba.

Ground handling

Three local ground handlers operate at Bonaire airport.

Air Handling Service Bonaire (also known as AHS or AHSB), is the ground handling agent for Delta Air Lines and Insel Air, and as of October 2016 for United Airlines. It was also the agent for American Eagle before they discontinued their flights from and to San Juan and Dutch Antilles Express before halting operations in 2013. They also provide handling services to private jets.

Bonaire Air Services (also known as BAS), is the ground handling agent for Air France-KLM, TUI Airlines Netherlands (formerly Arkefly/Arke) and some cargo services (such as Amerijet, Aerosucre and Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas). It was also the agent for Air Jamaica prior to their discontinued flight to Bonaire and, United Airlines (formerly known and operated as Continental Airlines). BAS is also the ground handler for charter flights operated by Aerolíneas Estelar, Conviasa, LASER Airlines and Surinam Airways.

Progressive Air Services (also known as PAS), was the ground handling agent for Rainbow air, Tiara Air until their discontinued flights and is a partnership with BonAir. Progressive Air Services also provides handling service to various private jets that visit the island as well as cargo services (such as Ameriflight). It was also the ground handling agent for Kavok Airlines and Transaven. PAS is also the ground handler for charter flights operated by Línea Turística Aereotuy.

Swissport also serves as one of the cargo and aircraft ground handling service on the island. Swissport was the ground handling agent for Arkefly (Curaçao), DAE (Curaçao) & Insel Air (Curaçao) before the handling of DAE & Insel Air has been later handled by Air Handling Services Bonaire and Arkefly is being handled by Bonaire Air Services.

Divi Divi Air and EZAir are the only airlines with their own handling services and employees.

Fuel

Aviation Jet A1 fuel is available 24 hours a day via Valero Bonaire Fuels Co N.V., owned by Valero Energy Corporation. On-site capacity of the tank-farm consists of two storage tanks of 630,000 gallons each. Every other week jet fuel is delivered to the island via a tanker from their own refinery at Aruba. Valero operates a direct pipeline from their landing-jetty to the airport. Two refueller trucks each with 15.000 gallons and one with 10,000 gallons are available.

Emergency equipment

The airport is categorized as Fire Category 9 and on-site equipment includes four crashtenders and one rapid-intervention unit.

Incidents and accidents

On November 3, 2003, a Mitsubishi MU-2 twin-engine turboprop crashed while on final after reporting an emergency with its engines. The tower received the message from the pilot, Hans van Gijn, 57, flying aircraft registration number N630HA, reporting engine problems and that ditching in the sea was a possibility. It had departed Bonaire earlier in the day to pick up a medical patient in Aruba for transport to Baranquilla, Colombia. After dropping off the patient and a male nurse in Baranquilla, the plane headed back to Bonaire. Minutes before it was due to land both engines stopped. The powerless plane glided over the shoreline and almost made it to the runway. It appeared that the undercarriage of the plane snagged on the cyclone fence bordering the shore road and flipped over. There was no fire. The plane was completely mangled except for the passenger compartment. From the wreckage it appeared that the pilot exited through the cockpit door.

On October 14, 2009, a single-engined private plane exploded in mid-air while flying over Bonaire. Witnesses near the west coast of the island witnessed a ball of fire falling from the sky at around 9 pm. The bodies of the pilot and a passenger were recovered along with bales of drugs. The bodies, aircraft type and drug type have yet to be identified.

On October 21, 2009, a Britten-Norman Islander BN-2A flight operated by local commuter airline, Divi Divi Air Flight 014 lost an engine while in flight to Bonaire and had to ditch in the sea south-west of Klein Bonaire and five minutes out from Bonaire. Pilot Robert Mansell, 32, managed to successfully ditch the plane in the water but was knocked unconscious on impact. The passengers tried to undo his safety harness, but the plane was sinking too fast and he went down with the aircraft, but rescue boats managed to pick up all of the nine passengers that were on board. The aircraft involved was registered as PJ-SUN