last edited Dec 11, 2019
Flying to the Dutch Caribbean
Location Map of Caribbean Netherlands
Caribbean Netherlands
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General Information
Each of the three islands has its own airport. However, Bonaire’s (Flamingo International) is by far the most important, handling around 500,000 passengers per year from the USA (Atlanta, Houston), Caracas, Amsterdam, and especially the nearby island of Curaçao, which serves as a secondary gateway to Bonaire thanks to its more extensive network.
Saba’s airport (Juancho E. Yrausquin) has a reputation for being quite dangerous due to its layout and for having the shortest commercial runway in the world. As a result, only Winair and Anguilla Air Service operate flights to/from Anguilla, Sint-Maarten, and St. Eustatius using small aircraft. Meanwhile, St. Eustatius’ airport (F. D. Roosevelt Airport) also has very limited traffic, with only Trans Anguilla Airways and Winair offering flights to/from Anguilla, Saba, and Sint-Maarten. In short, there are few options, meaning that for both islands, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten remains the best access route when arriving from Europe or North America.
Types of Flights
Local Airlines
The Dutch Caribbean doesn’t have its own national carriers. Those that once operated on behalf of the "ABC Islands" chose Aruba or Curaçao over Bonaire, and Saba/St. Eustatius have always relied on carriers from Sint Maarten. That said, Divi Divi Air is active on Bonaire, and Winair serves the other two islands.