InselAir (Curaçao) launched direct flights to Paramaribo International, Surinam, on Monday, December 18 after securing a temporary permit from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (CASAS), but has to repay a nearly USD1 million debt to Surinamese companies within 14 days.
According to Starnieuws, Surinamese Minister of Public works, Transport and Communications, Jerry Miranda, said during a press conference on December 19 that the airline was granted a temporary permit to operate to Suriname as the authorities did not want to disrupt passengers' holiday travel plans. However, it has to repay all debts within the set deadline to be allowed to continue.
The Curacoan carrier was forced to postpone the launch of its Suriname operations from November 20 to December 18 owing to its debt backlog. According to Starnieuws, Insel Air owes a total of USD350,000 to Surinam Airways and Fly All Ways Airlines with which it cooperated previously on the route between Paramaribo and Curacao. It also owes some USD400,000 to passengers who bought tickets, as well as a total of nearly USD200,000 to CASAS.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Insel Air runs the Curacao-Paramaribo route 2x weekly using MD-83 equipment. For its part, Surinam Airways operates this route 2x weekly via Port of Spain using a B737-300 while Fly All Ways Airlines operates 2x weekly with a Fokker 70.
Insel Air currently operates within the so-called ABC islands, connecting Curacao to Aruba and Bonaire, but also flies 7x weekly from Curacao to St. Maarten.
