Winair (WM, St. Maarten) has been granted "national carrier" status by the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Department in line with the recent launch of a partnership with PAWA Dominicana (Santo Domingo Las Américas).
The Daily Herald reports the designation allowed the carrier to apply for Curacaoan traffic rights as well as to enter into capacity supply/purchase agreements.
Winair has wet-leased an MD-82 from PAWA for use in connecting Curacao with Port au Prince, Haiti, using St. Maarten as an intermediate point. The service, which began on June 3, will run 2x weekly replacing that previously operated by InselAir (Curacao).
