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Queen Beatrix International Airport Internationale luchthaven Koningin Beatrix Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix
IATA: AUA ICAO: TNCA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Aruba Airport Authority N.V.
Location	Oranjestad, Aruba
Hub for	Aruba Airlines
Focus city for	Aerosucre
Elevation AMSL	60 ft / 18 m
Coordinates	12°30′05″N 70°00′55″W / 12.50139°N 70.01528°W / 12.50139; -70.01528
Website	airportaruba.com
Map
AUALocation in Aruba
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 2,743 8,999 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF

Queen Beatrix International Airport (IATA: AUA, ICAO: TNCA) (Dutch: Internationale luchthaven Koningin Beatrix; Papiamento: Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix) is an international airport located in Oranjestad, in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba . It has flight services to the United States, Canada, several countries in the Caribbean, the northern coastal countries of South America, as well as some parts of Europe, notably the Netherlands. It is named after Beatrix of the Netherlands, who was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013.

Overview

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The airport offers United States border preclearance facilities. Unlike other preclearance airports, the airport does not have special provisions for avoiding the traditional US domestic procedure of physically walking baggage through customs inspection. Thus, US-bound travelers must first check baggage, pass through Aruba immigration to formally exit Aruba, collect baggage, pass through US CBP preclearance immigration and customs inspection, recheck baggage, and head to their gates.

A terminal for private aircraft opened in 2007. The airport used to serve as the hub for bankrupt airline Air Aruba, which was for many years an international airline. Before Aruba's separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 it was also one of three hubs for ALM Antillean Airlines as well as a home base for Tiara Air until 2016.

Since 2013 the airport is home to Aruba Airlines, a local airline. The airline has three Airbus A320 family aircraft and two Bombardier CRJ200. The main focus of Aruba Airlines is connecting the region through its hub.

History

In 1934, Manuel Viana launched a weekly mail and passenger service between Aruba and Curaçao, with A.J. Viccellio piloting Loening C-2H Air Yacht PJ-ZAA from a mud-flat runway. Commercial services were taken over by KLM from 24 December 1934. Later they were transferred to a graded runway known as the KLM field. KLM's Snip, the PJ-AIS a Fokker tri-motor, ushered in the scheduled flying age in Aruba on 19 January 1935. Together with the KLM's “Oriol”, the PJ-AIO, also a three-engine Fokker, they flew until 1946, after which they were scrapped. On its bi-weekly Aruba-Curaçao operations, KLM transported 2,695 passengers on 471 flights.

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending Caribbean shipping and the Panama Canal against German submarines. The airfield was renamed Dakota Field; the terminal facilities became Dakota Airport. Flying units assigned to the airfield were:

• 59th Bombardment Squadron (9th Bombardment Group) 14 January-24 September 1942 (A-20 Havoc)
• 12th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 10 October 1942 – 23 November 1943 (B-18 Bolo)
• 22d Fighter Squadron (36th Fighter Group) 2 September 1942 – April 1943 (P-40 Warhawk)
• 32d Fighter Squadron (Antilles Air Command) 9 March 1943 – March 1944 (P-40 Warhawk)

On 22 October 1955, the airport was named after Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands during a royal visit. It was renamed in 1980 after her accession to the throne.

On 3 March 2021, American Airlines celebrated its 50 years flying to and from Aruba.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Notes

• ^1 KLM's flights operate to and from Bonaire on selected days.
• ^2 TUI Airlines Netherlands' flights operate between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on selected days. However, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
• ^3 Winair's flights operate between Aruba and Sint Maarten via Curaçao on selected days.

Cargo

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Statistics

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Accidents and incidents

• On 13 January 2010, an Arkefly Boeing 767-300 (registration PH-AHQ), operating Flight 361 from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Queen Beatrix International Airport, declared an emergency after a man claimed to have a bomb on board. A struggle with the flight crew ensued, and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland. Gardaí stormed the plane and arrested the man; he was taken to Shannon Garda police station. A passenger who had recently had surgery collapsed in the terminal while waiting for the continuation of the flight, and had to be taken to a local hospital. The replacement aircraft, PH-AHY, also a Boeing 767-300, continued the flight to Aruba.

See also

• Trams in Oranjestad

References

Citations

1. "Airport information for TNCA". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006.
2. ^ "Airport History". Retrieved 16 September 2017.
3. "Airport History". Retrieved 3 March 2021.
4. "Avianca expands connectivity between Medellin and Aruba". RoutesOnline. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
5. "Trade snow for sunshine: Delta's new flights from MSP to Aruba, St. Maarten and more". 21 June 2024.
6. "Gol anuncia mais um destino no Caribe". Flap International (in Portuguese). 4 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
7. "LATAM Peru start flight to Aruba". Retrieved 24 March 2023.
8. "Surinam Airways Increases Miami service From mid-Dec 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 2 December 2023.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer Maurer (1 January 1982). Air Force Combat Units of World War II: History and Insignia. Zenger Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89201-092-9.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) . Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

External links

• Official Website
• Current weather for TNCA at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for AUA at Aviation Safety Network

• Aviation
• Netherlands
• Caribbean

v t e Buildings in Aruba
Forts	Fort Zoutman
Government	City Hall Parliament Building
Hospitals	Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital
Museums	Aloe Museum Historical Museum National Archaeological Museum
Other	Bushiribana and Balashi California Lighthouse National Library De Olde Molen Seroe Colorado Lighthouse University of Aruba Water Tower San Nicolas
Places of worship	Alto Vista Chapel Beth Israel Synagogue Protestant Church St. Ann's Church St. Francis of Assisi Church St. Philomena's Church
Sports venues	Don Elias Mansur Ballpark Trinidad Stadium
Transport	Queen Beatrix International Airport

v t e USAAF Sixth Air Force in World War II
Previously: Panama Canal Air Force (1940-1941); Caribbean Air Force (1941-1942)
Airfields	Caribbean Coolidge (Antigua) Dakota (Aruba) Batista (Cuba) Camaguey (Cuba) Hato (Curaçao) Vernam (Jamaica) Arecibo (Puerto Rico) Borinquen (Puerto Rico) Losey (Puerto Rico) Benedict (Saint Croix) Beane (Saint Lucia) Carlsen (Trinidad) Piarco Airport (Trinidad) Waller (Trinidad) Canal Zone Albrook France Howard Panama Aguadulce Anton Calzada Larga Chame David La Chorrera Madden Patilla Point Pocri Río Hato Central and South America Belém (Brazil) Atkinson (British Guiana) Zandery (Dutch Guiana) Salinas (Ecuador) Baltra (Galápagos Islands) Guatemala City (Guatemala) Talara (Peru)
Units	Commands VI Bomber Command VI Fighter Command XXVI Fighter Command XXXVI Fighter Command VI Air Force Service Antilles Air Command Wings 6th Fighter 13th Bombardment 19th Composite 24th Composite Groups Fighter 16th Fighter 32d Fighter 36th Fighter 37th Fighter 53d Fighter Bomber 6th Bombardment 9th Bombardment 25th Bombardment 40th Bombardment Reconnaissance 72d Reconnaissance Squadrons 1st Depot Repair 20th Troop Carrier 23d Antisubmarine 91st Reconnaissance
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces
• Airports in Aruba
• Airports with United States border preclearance
• Airports established in 1934
• Oranjestad, Aruba
• 1934 establishments in Aruba
• 20th-century architecture in the Netherlands
• Beatrix of the Netherlands