Business Enquirer’s conversation with Bonaire International Airport (BIA) led to the discovery of the perfect pub quiz question:
Q. Why is Bonaire’s International Airport called Flamingo Airport?
A. Because the island boasts more pink-feathered inhabitants than people!
In fact, the island is a critical habitat for various bird species which are often spotted in the wild, and is known for its unique ecosystems, including mangroves and salt flats.
What appears to be a convivial fact about flamingos is actually a fundamental to the airport’s plans for the future – ensuring that Bonaire’s culture, authenticity, and originality is retained, over the possibility of unlocking mass tourism.
The island of Bonaire is often considered the ‘hidden treasure’ of the ABC islands – Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. A population of just over 24,000 (January 2023), the island is a special municipality of the Netherlands, forming part of the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba).
Like many islands in the Caribbean, tourism is the largest beneficiary to the island’s economy, with Bonaire particularly captivating the international diving community. The island and its islet, Klein Bonaire, offers 89 named dive sites, with divers being able to take in more than 350 fish species and 57 species of soft and stony coral. That’s why it’s often called the shore diving capital of the world.
Established in 1979, the Bonaire National Marine Park encompasses the entire coastline and surrounding waters, aiming to protect the island’s marine biodiversity and promote sustainable use of its resources.
Besides having plentiful and diverse nature, Bonaire has a rich history, with its culture developing from Africa, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and England, giving it a unique cuisine and language (Papiamentu). Or, as they say on Bonaire: “It’s in our Nature!”
Meanwhile, you won’t find any tall buildings on the island which is known for its low-rise architecture. A law preventing the construction of high-rise buildings helps Bonaire to maintain its continued efforts to retain the island’s natural beauty and charm.
Supporting the island’s push on eco-tourism, many hotels and resorts on Bonaire are committed to sustainability, utilising solar energy, water conservation, and waste reduction.
With tourism being key to the island, which is found 80 km off of the coast of Venezuela, BIA recognises the importance it holds within the community.
“The airport is the gateway of Bonaire, connecting our island with the world, and the pillar of the island’s sustainable tourism,” explained CEO Maarten van der Scheer,. He was joined in speaking to Business Enquirer by COO and Bonairian, Giordano Molina.
The islands relationship with the Netherlands helped to bolster the airport’s stability throughout the COVID pandemic, with flights between the Netherlands and Bonaire able to re-open quickly. Now, the airport has seen a 20% increase in traffic since pre-pandemic levels.
And, whilst BIA recognises the importance of growth to a sustainable business, it is not something it actively pursues.
“We don’t strive for growth, but aim to facilitate the development of the island’s and its community,” shared Maarten, “with our partners we look to encourage quality tourism over quantity”.
A Front-Runner in Electric Flight
To bolster the future of the island’s valuable ecosystem, BIA is working alongside the Dutch government and the Dutch Caribbean Cooperation of Airports (DCAA) to become a front runner in e-flying.
“Whilst we facilitate international travel, we also support our residents to travel between the local islands,” explained Giordano. “Offering e-flight will enable us to lower the cost of those trips, as well as become a premier example sustainable flying”, added Maarten
BIA is creating the foundation and facilities in order for its airlines to be able to offer this service with small planes within a matter of a few years.
Supporting the airport’s plans to facilitate e-flight is its plans for an on-site solar park, which is currently under tender.
“We are aiming to launch the solar park in phases, and the energy generated can be used to power both public and rental cars, handling equipment, as well as electric aircraft,” said Maarten, “alongside the benefits this will have for the sustainability footprint of the airport, it will hopefully be also of support for the island’s push on eco-tourism”.
Recently, BIA has made improvements to its facilities to enhance its capacity and customer experience, ensuring travellers experience the unique Bonairian spirit at every touch point.
Amongst its many projects to improve visitor experience, the airport has recently added a terrace to its departure lounge waiting area.
“Not only is this an expansion of our waiting area, it also allows guests to enjoy the last of the Bonaire sunshine before their flight,” added Giordano.
In addition, it has enlarged the capacity of its baggage reclaim belt and waiting area to handle increased traffic, and added a canopy to its border control facility to keep customers cool whilst they wait.
“As well as this, we will upgrade our security filter meaning we can pass through more passengers in a friendly, quality, efficient, and high-standard way,” Giordano commented, “We have developed our safety and security protocols to meet the highest standards, and despite the size of our airport compared to bigger players, we are fully compliant internationally,” he continued.
Furthermore, working in conjunction with the Dutch Government, BIA is currently undergoing a multi-million pound overhaul to its airfield ground lighting system, which is due to complete at the end of 2024.
An Expanding Network
Due to the increased traffic to Bonaire, the airport has recently announced groundbreaking developments in the operators facilitating flights to the airport.
As well as American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta, Canada’s WestJet has recently joined the roster of operators flying into Bonaire, offering a stable, seasonal schedule to Toronto.
And, from November 2024, JetBlue will launch a bi-weekly, year round operation from JFK, New York.
“The partnership with JetBlue is an exciting step forward for Bonaire, as it removes a blank spot from our growing network,” shared Marten.
Considered one of the largest intercontinental airport in the Netherlands, as well as the fourth largest in the Dutch Caribbean, Flamingo Airport is one of the biggest contributors to the Bonaire economy, as well as one of the larger employers on the island.
“We have created partnerships with both local and international businesses in aviation to create knowledge sharing and learning opportunities on the island,” said Giordano, “it is crucial that we can develop an experienced, educated, and passionate local workforce to ensure the success of the airport into the future”.
Both Maarten and Giordano reflected that Bonaire is on a journey to a successful, sustainable future. But what is crucial to both BIA and the island is not numbers on the balance sheet (although undeniably important), but the preservation of the identity and uniqueness of one of the world’s remaining hidden gems.