Caribbean Netherlands: more air passengers in 2023
In 2023, more than 504 thousand travellers passed through the airports of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius. That was 6 percent more than in 2022 and 10 percent more than in 2019. The number of aircraft movements to and from these airports was almost 15 percent higher than in 2022. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures.
Most passengers travelled to and from the three airports of the Caribbean Netherlands in January: nearly 47 thousand. The busiest day was Saturday 4 March, when 2.5 thousand travellers passed through the terminals of Flamingo Airport on Bonaire, F.D. Roosevelt Airport on St Eustatius or Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba. On Friday 28 April, the airports collectively handled the most flights (94).
Highest number of passengers flew to and from Bonaire
In 2023, nearly 447 thousand passengers arrived at or departed from Flamingo Airport on Bonaire, i.e. 89 percent of all passengers in the Caribbean Netherlands.
That was nearly 4 percent more than in 2022 and up by over 16 percent on 2019.
The runway at Flamingo Airport on Bonaire is 3 km long, which makes it possible for larger aircraft to land there. The runways on Saba and St Eustatius are shorter, which is why the aircraft serving these islands are smaller.
Largest increase in air passengers on St Eustatius
More than 56 thousand travellers passed through the airports of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba in 2023. The largest increase in air passengers was at F.D. Roosevelt airport on St Eustatius, nearly 32 thousand people flew to and from the island. This was almost 40 percent more than in 2022. Nearly 25 thousand passengers flew to and from Saba, an increase of nearly 17 percent compared to 2022.
Over 25 percent more flights to and from Bonaire
Nearly 14.2 thousand flights were operated at Flamingo Airport on Bonaire in 2023, up by 27 percent on 2022. F.D. Roosevelt Airport on St Eustatius handled over 5 thousand flights, 6 percent more than in 2022.
There was less air travel to and from Saba in 2023 than in the previous year; Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport handled 3.6 thousand flights in 2023, a decrease of 6.7 percent.
Highest number of passengers between Bonaire and Amsterdam
Of all flights on Bonaire, 74 percent of the flights were between Bonaire and Curaçao, carrying 146 thousand passengers. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol ranked second with 10 percent of all flights. Most passengers were carried between Bonaire and Amsterdam; 188 thousand, which is 42 percent of the total.
Flights from St. Eustatius and Saba operated mainly to and from St. Maarten (75 and 88 percent of all flights and 89 and 94 percent of the number of passengers, respectively).
Sources:
StatLine - Caribbean Netherlands; Aviation, monthly airport data
https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/en/dataset/82332ENG/table?ts=1711541907043
StatLine - Aviation; monthly figures of Dutch major airports
https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/en/dataset/37478eng/table?ts=1711541993236