Flamingo International Airport

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Coordinates: 12°07′51″N 068°16′06″W / 12.13083, -68.26833

Flamingo International Airport
Bonaire International Airport
Bonaire International Airport

IATA: BON – ICAO: TNCB
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government
Operator Bonaire International Airport N.V.
Serves Bonaire
Location Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
Elevation AMSL 20 ft / 6 m
Website www.flamingoairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,880 9,449 Asphalt

Flamingo International Airport or Bonaire International Airport (IATA: BON, ICAO: TNCB) is an international airport located at Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Flamingo Airport serves as a connecting point for flights of KLM to some destinations in South America. It once served as a hub for BonaireExel, BonaireExpress,CuraçaoExel, CuraçaoExpress & Dutch Antilles Express and it now serves as the home base for "EZAir". It is the 3rd largest airport in the Netherlands Antilles behind St.Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport & Curaçao's Hato International Airport and is the 4th largest between the islands of the Dutch Kingdom behind the already mention St. Maarten, Curaçao & Aruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport. Arkefly, Continental, Delta & KLM are currently the largest airline operators that operate flights to Bonaire.

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[edit] History

Bonaire's first airport was located near Tra'i Montaña Subi Blanku and walked across the current path of 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 see the more than 475 meters to make because the eastern portion of the land was very low. Part of the field had to be modified, in particular where the plane hitting the ground at the landing and rising. This area covered more than 100 metres from the runway which had to be paved with a mixture of sand and stone.

KLM decided on May 9, 1936 to take the risk to 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. Therefore KLM decided to make the first official flight with passengers and was scheduled to be performed 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 present airport now stands. The new airport, named "Flamingo Airport", was put into use in 1945. This was a big step forward for Bonaire and it's aviation system. A small was building that was suitable for the number of passengers at the time. This building was used until mid 1976.

The construction of a new runway began in the last months of 1953 and was completed in 1955. The small airport 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 1750 meters long and 30 meters wide, enough for a DC9 to land and take-off with full load. On June 7, 1974 suggested a public tender for the construction of a new terminal building. 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.

Bonaire International Airport Satelite view. Here you can see the current location of the airport.
Bonaire International Airport Satelite view. Here you can see the current location of the airport.

[edit] Airport information

A runway with a length of 2400 meters and a width of 45 meters was opened in 1980 and the first Bonaire-Miami flight took place on April 19, 1980. In October 2000 the runway was extended again to a length of 2,880 meters. The current runway is long enough for flights to Europe to perform 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 had been modernized and expanded. There is a new departure hall, a new platform for wide body aircraft and a fuel farm was also added. Today Flamingo Airport is a full service stop for transit flights and the destination for many tourist flights, with air-conditioned offices, restaurant, departure hall & stores.

Bonaire International Airport building and the parking lot.
Bonaire International Airport building and the parking lot.

The airport registered a more than 10% increase in passengers in the first quarter of this year (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.

[edit] Future plans

It is planned to expand the current airport building as more airlines & tourist come to Bonaire. It is also planned to expand the current Departure & Arrival hall of the airport to meet the standards of the amount of tourist that will be visiting the airport in the coming years abd to repairthe airport's runway after certain speculations that the runway had a crack in it. According to The Dutch Transport Minister, Camiel Eurlings, he calculates that it will cost about €20 million (euro) (57 million guilders) to rapair Bonaire's worn-out Flamingo International Airport runway. Since Bonaire is going to be the resposibility of the Netherlands, the airport must comply with the 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 Netherlands Antilles & Aruba) 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 currently in the process of drawing up a master plan to comply with international inquirements. There are three importante projects planned which include:

  1. Maintenance of the runway (as mentioned above)
  2. Moving the fire station to the middle of the runway
  3. Purchasing two push-back cars for the heavy jets

The management is working very hard to make sure that the 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.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

These are the present airlines that operate flights to Bonaire:

The Airport has two main ramps in which the larger one is used for wide bodied aircraft such as KLM & Arkefly, but the ramp is also used by Continental Airlines & Air Jamaica. The smaller ramp which is situated in front of the airport building is maimly used by smaller operating aircraft.

Divi Divi Air, Dutch Antilles Express & KLM are the most operating airlines on Bonaire. Divi Divi Air serves Bonaire daily with 9 flights a day from Curaçao. Dutch Antilles Express serves Bonaire daily through several destinations in the Caribbean & South American areas with some stops in Curaçao. KLM also serves Bonaire daily via it's Amsterdam, Quito & Guayaquil routes. Air Jamaica serves Bonaire weekly on Saturdays from Montego Bay but sadly ended it's flights on March 8, 2008. American Eagle serves Bonaire 5 days a week from San Juan and starting daily flights on January 9, 2008. Continental Airlines serves Bonaire twice a week on Saturdays & Sundays with continual seasonal flights being added. Delta Air Lines flies weekly from Atlanta to Bonaire on Saturdays since February 9th and is discussing the idea for different seasonal flights depending on the interest for Bonaire. They have also changed the aircraft type from a B737-800 to a B757-200. E-Liner Airways operates daily commuter flights from Curaçao along with other options for cargo, sightseeing, day tours & chartered flights to Aruba, Curaçao, Colombia, Venezuela & other destinations in the Caribbean using their fleet consisting of Piper Aircraft. Insel Air and Tiara Air also serve Bonaire from Insel Air's home base of Curaçao & Tiara Air's home base of Aruba several times a week. EZAir has just begun operations with its 4 flights a day from Bonaire - as its homebase - and is currently serving Curaçao and will later serve Aruba.

Here is a full list of the airlines, their place of origin & aircraft type that serve Bonaire:

Bonaire International Airport building with daily commuter airline Divi Divi aprked on the ramp.
Bonaire International Airport building with daily commuter airline Divi Divi aprked on the ramp.

[edit] Connection Airlines

Along with the airline's that serve Bonaire directly, there are also some other airline's to which one could fly to connect to Bonaire or from other destinations such as Curaçao, Aruba & St. Maarten. Here is the list of airlines that serve Bonaire as connection flights from other destinations with the destinations from which they serve the island and also the island that one could fly to, from Bonaire to connect with these airlines:

  • Aeropostal
    • Curaçao: Caracas
  • Air Canada
    • Aruba: Toronto-Pearson
    • St. Maarten: Toronto-Pearson [seasonal]
  • Air Jamaica
    • Curaçao: Kingston, Montego Bay
  • American Airlines
    • Aruba: Boston [seasonal], Miami, New York-JFK
    • Curaçao: Miami
    • St. Maarten: Miami, New York-JFK, San Juan [ends September 3]
  • Avianca/SAM
    • Aruba: Bogotá/Barranquilla, Bogotá, Medellin
    • Curaçao: Bogotá
  • LIAT
    • Curaçao: Port of Spain
    • St. Maarten: Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, San Juan, Tortola
  • Martinair
    • Aruba: Amsterdam
    • Curaçao: Amsterdam
  • Surinam Airways
    • Aruba:Paramaribo/Zanderij, Port of Spain, Willemstad
    • Curaçao: Oranjestad, Paramaribo/Zanderij, Port of Spain, Santo Domingo, Sint Maarten
  • US Airways
    • Aruba: Boston, Charlotte, New York-La Guardia [seasonal], Philadelphia
    • St. Maarten: Charlotte, Philadelphia
  • Winair
    • St. Maarten: Anguilla, Antigua, Beef Island, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, Santo Domingo, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia

[edit] Previous Airlines

During the years, the Bonaire International Airport has been served by many airlines from different parts of the world. But at times the airlines either decide to stop their flights that serve Bonaire for their own personal reason or the airline goes bankrupt. These are some of the airlines that used to operate to Bonaire:

A KLM 747 Landing at Bonaire. This aircraft used to operate to Bonaire but KLM now operates the MD11 to Bonaire.
A KLM 747 Landing at Bonaire. This aircraft used to operate to Bonaire but KLM now operates the MD11 to Bonaire.

A KLM MD11 flying over the Donkey Beach for a landing at the Bonaire Airport

The Bonaire Airport terminal building and tower

An approach to the airport with a view of the Donkey Beach behind the airport

This very first airline to serve as Bonaire's own, BonairExel

The new and improved Bonaire Airport transit lounge

This is the Bonaire Airport terminal building from the side with a view of the parking lot

An aerial view of the Bonaire Airport

This is the official Bonaire Aircraft spotting place, which was painted by the Bonaire Flight Simulator Group (The original color was white with black stripes)

[edit] Incidents & Accidents

On June 18, 2004, a Cessna 402B, registration N69404, registered to Aircraft Sales Corporation, leased to a private individual, experienced collapse of both main landing gears during the landing roll at the Flamingo Airport, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. The airplane departed St.Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airportwith destination to Curaçao's Hato International Airport. The pilot, while flying, noticed that the aircraft's right alternator failure light illuminated and heard a "whining" sound coming from the left side of the aircraft ten minutes later and noted the landing gear motor circuit breaker was popped and the landing gear in-transit light was illuminated. On approach to the airport he attempted to extend the landing gear manually then performed a fly by of the air traffic control tower. He was advised that the landing gear appeared to be extended and the flight returned for landing. Upon landing, the left main landing gear collapsed first, followed by the right main landing gear and the aircraft came to rest off the left side of the runway. Both occupants evacuated the aircraft safetly with no injuries. Today, the aircraft resides at the Bonaire Airport at the General Aviation's ramp without its engines.[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links