In 2022, nearly 432 thousand travellers arrived at or departed from Flamingo Airport on Bonaire, i.e. 91 percent of all passengers in the Caribbean Netherlands. For the airports of St Eustatius and Saba, this was 5 and 4 percent respectively. The runway at Flamingo Airport on Bonaire is 3 km long, which makes it possible for larger aircraft to land. The runways on Saba and St Eustatius are shorter, which is why the aircraft for these islands are smaller.
Sharpest increase in air passenger traffic on Bonaire
Compared to pre-pandemic year 2019, 4 percent more passengers travelled to and from the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands in 2022. These additional passengers all travelled to and from Bonaire, representing an increase of more than 12 percent (from 384 thousand passengers in 2019 to 432 thousand in 2022). Last year, the number of flights to and from Bonaire was far below the level of 2019.
More flights to and from Saba
In 2022, the airports of St Eustatius and Saba together recorded over 8.6 thousand aircraft arrivals and departures. This was 44 percent of all flights to and from the Caribbean Netherlands and 16.4 percent more than in 2021. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba was the only one of the three airports in the Caribbean Netherlands where the number of flights increased in 2022 compared to 2019.