The Court docket of First Occasion of Curacao has declared United Caribbean Airways BV and JetAir Caribbean BV, collectively working as JetAir, bankrupt.
JetAir was the only real airline primarily based in Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire with jet plane, providing scheduled and constitution flights connecting Curaçao with Aruba, Bonaire, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, St. Maarten, Suriname, and Colombia.
The airline obtained its working allow in November 2019, simply earlier than the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted its preliminary operations. Put up-pandemic, JetAir aggressively resumed its companies, focusing on routes from Curaçao to Colombia, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and St. Maarten. Nevertheless, the enlargement of native airways Winair and Z Air, alongside the emergence of low-cost Arajet and the enlargement of Sky Excessive, constrained JetAir’s restricted operations.
Moreover, the excessive working prices of its Fokker 70 plane pressured JetAir to floor one for spare components. Lately, the airline was negotiating a transition to cheaper ATR 42/72 turboprops or smaller jets just like the CRJ and ERJ.
JetAir has reported losses amounting to 2 million Aruban florins (ANG), equal to 1.1 million {dollars}, within the first 4 months of 2024, as per Expreso Curaçao. The identical supply indicated that the board of administrators compelled JetAir to stop operations and floor its sole Fokker 70 (PJ-JAB). Initially, the airline might want to inform passengers, workers, and different stakeholders, safe belongings, and discover prospects for a short-term resumption of flights.
JetAir’s chapter aligns with the monetary struggles of different Caribbean airways corresponding to Air Antilles and LIAT, each of which have since re-emerged with new traders.
