Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic resolve spat

Sint Maarten's Winair acquires two ATR42s

Winair (WM, St. Maarten) has acquired two ATR42-500s, which will become its first two in-house units of the type and will replace another ATR42 wet-leased from Air Antilles (3S, Pointe à Pitre).

The state-owned carrier said it took one year to analyse various fleet growth options before selecting the ATR - Avions de Transport Régional turboprops. The first will deliver in March 2023 and will be used on routes to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Dominica Douglas-Charles, and Port au Prince, while the second will arrive a month later and be deployed to Antigua, Beef Island, St. Lucia Vigie, Bridgetown, and possibly to other destinations which are still under review.

Winair is currently working with the St. Maarten airport operator and the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority (SMCAA) to clear all bureaucratic hurdles for the induction of in-house ATR42-500s.

The airline did not reveal the identity of the two ATRs and did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.

The Sint...

St. Maarten's Winair secures added $1.5mn Dutch gov't loan

The Dutch government has decided to grant another USD1.5 million loan to help struggling Winair (WM, St. Maarten) survive but plans to divest from the airline in the long-term, according to Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Barbara Visser.

In a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), Visser said in light of the ongoing pandemic, an existing loan dated December 31, 2020, would be increased to USD4.5 million. “That amount is equal to the foreclosure value of the collateral. In addition, the repayment term will be three years from now, with the option to postpone it for six years from December 31, 2020.”

“Increasing the mortgage loan does not equate to state aid," she stressed. "I explicitly choose not to donate the financing needs of the company and to contribute to a restructuring. In principle, the cabinet is of the opinion that it is up to the country of Sint Maarten to weigh up the interests involved in its national airline, and whether or not to grant aid,” she said. Sint Maarten...

The Hague considers Netherlands Antilles PSO routes

The Dutch government is considering imposing a public service obligation (PSO) on routes between the Dutch Caribbean islands of St. Maarten, Saint Eustatius, and Saba (the SSS islands), according to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Barbara Visser.

In written answers to questions posed by Jorien Wuite and Kiki Hagen, both members of the social liberal Democrats 66 party and the House of Representatives, Visser agreed that proper connectivity to and between the Caribbean Netherlands islands was of great importance and that the Dutch government had a responsibility to ensure their accessibility.

A PSO was one of the solutions proposed by the Caribbean Netherlands Connectivity Committee chaired by former KLM Royal Dutch Airlines director Pieter Hartman, Visser noted in her reply. The two MPs had queried why the recommendations of the report had not yet been implemented and how the government intended to guarantee connectivity on thin traffic routes which were not always deemed viable by commercial airlines.

“For this reason, the Dutch government has tried since 2010, through a state...

No more Dutch aid for now for St Maarten's distressed Winair