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Curaçao International Airport Hato International Airport Aeropuerto Internashonal Hato Hato Internationale Luchthaven
IATA: CUR ICAO: TNCC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Curaçao Airport Holding
Operator	Curaçao Airport Partners
Serves	Curaçao
Location	Willemstad, Curaçao
Hub for	Divi Divi Air EZAir
Elevation AMSL	29 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	12°11′20″N 068°57′35″W / 12.18889°N 68.95972°W / 12.18889; -68.95972
Website	curacao-airport.com
Map
CURLocation in Curaçao
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 3,410 11,188 Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
Passengers 830,145
Source: Curaçao Airport

Curaçao International Airport (IATA: CUR, ICAO: TNCC) (Papiamento: Aeropuerto Internashonal Hato, Dutch: Hato Internationale Luchthaven), also known as Hato International Airport (formerly Dr. Albert Plesman International Airport), is the only airport for the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean Sea.

The airport is located on the north coast of Curaçao, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the capital Willemstad. The airport connects Curaçao island to Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. It has the third longest commercial runway in the Caribbean region, accommodating up to a Boeing 747.

The airport serves as a main base for Divi Divi Air and EZAir. It formerly served as a main base for ALM, KLM, DCA, DAE, Insel Air, and JetAir Caribbean.

History

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The airport was initially called Hato Airport, namesake of the nearby town of Hato. On 5 January 1954, the airport was renamed Dr. Albert Plesman airport. Plesman, director of the Royal Dutch Airlines for the Netherlands and Colonies, had died a few days earlier. Often it was spoken of Aeropuerto Plesman or Plesman Airport, unofficially also the name Hato remained in use till this day. Nowadays, the official name is Curaçao International Airport.

Albert Plesman, director of KLM, said, "It will be unnecessary to set out in detail, of which it is of paramount importance, that the Dutch aviation industry gets a firm footing in the vicinity of the Caribbean sea, where air traffic is now becoming more and more a factor of economic significance." With this argument, in March 1934, Plesman, hoped to receive financial support from the Comité Vliegtocht Nederland-Indië. It was a new plan to head to the West. In the 1920s, it started to interest itself in the Caribbean region. Curaçao was developing itself in a beneficial way due to the presence of the oil refinery, and a growing number of people were starting to choose the region with the purpose of vacationing. Aviation companies were paying close attention to these developments and were researching if it was possible to create a connection between the United States, Curaçao and South America. The West Indische Government constructed a runway at the Hato plantation in Curaçao,

On 22 December 1934, the Snip plane arrived in Curaçao after an 8th day during a trip with the route Amsterdam-Marseille-Alicante-Casablanca-Porto Praia-Paramaribo-La Guaria-Curaçao.

1940s – World War II

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Hato was one of the most important and busiest airports in the Caribbean during the Second World War. The airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force for patrols against submarines. Flying units using the airfield were:

• 59th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command), 10 March 1942 – 13 July 1943 (A-20 Havoc)
• 32d Fighter Squadron (36th Fighter Group, Antilles Air Command, XXVI Fighter Command), 9 March 1943 – 13 March 1944 (P-40 Warhawk)
• Detachment operated from: Dakota Field, Aruba, 9 March 1943 – 9 March 1944
• Detachment operated from: Losey Army Airfield, Puerto Rico, 9 March – 4 June 1944
• 25th Bombardment Group (VI Bomber Command), 1 August – 5 October 1943

1960s – Facilitating bigger airplanes

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During the 1960s, the 'Bestuurscollege' commissioned Netherlands Airport Consultants B.V. (NACO) to design a Master plan for the airport. This assignment was in connection with the expected arrival of the Boeing 747. The runway was extended and the first KLM 'Jumbo' arrived on 6 November 1971, with the Boeing 747-200 ‘Mississippi’.

Organisational development

Curaçao International Airport N.V. (Curinta) was founded in 1977 and operated the Airport until 2013. Its predecessor was the 'Luchthavenbedrijf' (airport company), which was a department of the Government of Curaçao. After 2013, a public-private-partnership was founded. The Curaçao Airport Holding (CAH) is owned by the government and CAH owns the airport and 450 hectares (1100 acres) of land around it. The CAH acts as supervisor of the Curaçao Airport Partners (CAP) who has a 30-year concession to operate and develop the airport. The CAP is a consortium of Zürich Airport (Switzerland), Janssen de Jong (the Netherlands) and CCR (Brazil).

2010s – Renovation and expansion

In the 2010s, renovations and expansions were started, so the airport could host more passengers. The runway and taxiway were renovated, a plaza was opened with catering and retail, and the old terminal was demolished. A new departure hall took its place. It is fully airconditioned with a system using cold seawater. The airport receives about 3,300 private jets and airplanes yearly. A dedicated terminal or Jet Centre was opened to efficiently handle VIPS and artists at large events, and to be ready for even more private passengers in the future.

Airport expansion project

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Curaçao Airport Partners (CAP) started off the expansion and visible enhancement of Curaçao International Airport as part of the airport expansion project:

1. 2014: Enhancement and expansion of the check-in area and airport boulevard.
2. 2016: Groundbreaking ceremony of the Curaçao International Airport Terminal Expansion Project.
3. 2016: Inauguration of arrivals hall and food and beverages services and stores. CAP now also provides a safer landside flow, as the 'road' right in front of the airport has been adjusted into a boulevard for pedestrians. Families, kids, airport employees and users can safely enjoy this area of the airport, while having a clear overview of the surroundings.
4. Spantenbier terminal expansion on 1 June.

The Spantenbier and terminal expansion

The terminal expansion project is a crucial component of the airport expansion project. The Spantenbier of the expanded eastern part of the terminal marks another important milestone in the project.

An important partner in this development is the governmental company Curaçao Airport Holding, which is also investing significantly in the realization of the expansion project.

When inaugurated, the new terminal will have doubled the departure waiting area. In addition to a more spacious area for arriving, departing and transit passengers, Curaçao International Airport will gain an additional bridge that will be able to accommodate, process and offer services to large wide-body aircraft. In addition, a second Mirador will be placed on the expanded part of the terminal, ideal for enjoying plane spotting with family and friends or for photography.

Economic and social impact

CAP realizes the impact the airport developments have on Curaçao's economy, and as the airport operator is committed to jointly offer an enhanced and improved facility and service, positioning Curaçao as a more competitive airport in the Caribbean region.

The start date of the complete construction work for the terminal expansion project (terminal and continuation with the expansion of the middle part of the airport) was the second quarter of 2016. The end date of the complete construction work (including new immigration departures area) was December 2018.

The start date of the terminal expansion/bridge construction work was June 2016. The end date was set for January 2018.

When the terminal area is operational, CAP and CAH will offer more space (double the capacity) in the waiting area with facilities that enhance the comfort and experience of the traveler as well as more shopping and food and beverage facilities.

CAP will also offer a 6th bridge for major wide body airplanes. Here after CAP will continue with the expansion which includes separate routes for arriving or transit passengers and a new spacious area for departing area immigration among others.

The aim is to be able to process 2.5 million travelers.

Investment

Curaçao Airport Partners (a private company) invested 25 million dollars in the terminal expansion. CAH also invested an additional 10 million dollars in the terminal expansion project.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

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.

Top 10 busiest routes out of Curaçao International Airport (2018)

Rank	Country	Passengers	% total	% change	Airlines
1	Netherlands	177.042	41,0%	11,0%	KLM, TUI fly Netherlands
2	United States	73.259	17,0%	20,0%	American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United Airlines
3	Colombia	23.593	5,5%	38,0%	Avianca, Copa Airlines
4	Canada	21.169	4,9%	11,0%	Air Canada, Sunwing Airlines, WestJet
5	Germany	18.536	4,3%	10,0%	Condor
6	Venezuela	16.081	3,7%	44,0%	Albatros Airlines, Avior Airlines, LASER Airlines
7	Aruba	14.060	3,3%	13,0%	Aruba Airlines, Divi Divi Air, EZAir
8	Brazil	13.229	3,1%	23,0%	Avianca, Wingo
9	Suriname	8.458	2,0%	9,0%	Fly All Ways, Surinam Airways
10	Belgium	7.400	1,7%	12,0%	TUI fly Belgium

Top 10 airlines at CUR (2022)

Rank	Airline	Passenger share	Destinations
1	KLM	29%	Amsterdam
2	TUI fly Netherlands	19%	Amsterdam
3	American Airlines	13%	Charlotte, Miami
4	Divi Divi Air	8%	Kralendijk, Oranjestad
5	EZAir	6%	Barranquilla, Kralendijk, Medellín, Oranjestad
6	Avianca	5%	Bogotá
7	Jetair Caribbean	5%	Kingston, Medellín, Philipsburg, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo
8	Copa Airlines	4%	Panama City
9	JetBlue	3%	New York
10	Wingo	2%	Bogotá

Coast Guard Air Station Hato

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Located at the west side of Hato Airport are hangars for the two Bombardier Dash 8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. This was, until 2007, a naval airbase of the Royal Netherlands Navy, which operated the base for 55 years. With a wide variety of aircraft in the past years Fireflies, Avengers, Trackers, Neptunes, Fokker F-27's, P-3C Orions, Fokker F-60's and several helicopters. After the political decision to sell all Orions the airbase was not needed anymore.

The west end of the airport is a USAF Forward Operating Base (FOB). The base hosts AWACS and transport aircraft. Until 1999 the USAF operated a small fleet of F-16 fighters from the FOB.

References

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

1. "Curaçao International Airport – Q4 and Year End Overview 2021". www.curacao-airport.com. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
2. "Janssen de Jong Caribbean bouwt alles, ook aan de gemeenschap". BouwendNederland.nl (in Dutch). 19 December 2023.
3. "Curaçao Airport Holding". Curaçao Business Magazine (cbm.cw). 31 October 2019.
4. "Inauguration of the new airport terminal and completion of the expansion project". Curaçao Business Magazine (cbm.cw). 17 December 2019.
5. "Renovations at Hato airport underway". Curaçao Business Magazine (cbm.cw). 28 October 2019.
6. "Air-conditioned departure hall at Hato airport". Curaçao Business Magazine (cbm.cw). 30 October 2019.
7. "New terminal for private aircraft at Hato airport". Curaçao Business Magazine (cbm.cw). 30 October 2019.
8. Rainer Nieves Dolande (23 April 2023). "Venezuela – Netherland[sic] Antilles: Albatros Airlines schedules flights to Curaçao from Valencia and Las Piedras". aviacionline.com.
9. "Avior Airlines conectará a Venezuela con Curazao a partir del #4Oct: conozca el itinerario". Finanzasdigital.com (in Spanish). 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
10. "Azul doubles flights to Curaçao and adds new connection to Fort Lauderdale starting December". Curacao Chronicle. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
11. "Delta to resume nonstop service to Curaçao this winter". Delta Air Lines. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
12. "Laser Airlines to relaunch flights from Caracas to Curacao starting in May". Aviacionaldia.com (in Spanish). 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
13. "Puerto la Cruz y San Cristóbal: Nuevos destinos de Rutaca en Barquisimeto". noticiasbarquisimeto.com (in Spanish). 20 October 2023.
14. "Sunrise Airways NW24 Caribbean Network Additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
15. "Surinam Airways Increases Miami service From mid-Dec 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
16. "TUIfly Belgium Adds Curacao From Nov 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
17. "Wingo anuncia dos nuevas rutas desde Medellín hacia Curazao y San José de Costa Rica: ¿cuándo empezarán a operar?". El Tiempo. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
18. ^ "2022 – An Exceptional Year for Curaçao International Airport". Curaçao Airport. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
19. "Airlines". Curaçao Airport. Retrieved 31 January 2023.

• 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

• Media related to Hato International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
• Airport information for TNCC at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Accident history for CUR at Aviation Safety Network

• Aviation
• Netherlands
• Caribbean

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

• Airports in Curaçao
• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces
• Buildings and structures in Willemstad