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80 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 81
port has quite a bit of property that we can develop
with different investors to make most of these projects
economically viable.”
Aside from its capital projects, the Airport’s day-to-day
operations are financed by the airlines that serve Bo-
naire and the passengers who travel on them. Among
the international carriers are KLM, the oldest with six
frequencies per week; TUI, flying out of Holland; Delta,
out of Atlanta; and United out of Houston and Newark.
Insel Air and Divi Divi Air both fly between Bonaire and
Curacao, another island in the Netherlands Antilles
chain. And Nicolaas reports that the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) has recently approved a
modest increase in airport fees for the next five years
in order to help support those operations.
But he also maintains that in order not to put too
much burden of the Airport’s costs on its customers,
it needs to devise different ways to raise more non-
aeronautical revenues. And some of his proposals are
eye-opening. “We’re very focused on how we can fur-
ther use the Airport properties to bring the community
to the airport by creating other types of amenities that
are not only used by passengers, but also used by the
public in general,” he says. “For example, we’re look-
ing to construct a bowling alley at the airport. We have
the space, so why don’t we bring some people to the
airport to bowl? We’re looking for partners to do that.”
Nicolaas also suggests that the Airport could host a
hotel and convention center as part of a greater air-
port city and that Bonaire is particularly well-posi-
tioned for this type of growth. “The opportunity that
Bonaire Airport is offering is to be part of Holland, not
just part of the region as a Caribbean airport,” he de-
clares, “and because you’re part of Holland, you can
easily do business with Europe. If you want to be part
of any European type of exchange business, Bonaire is
the place to be. Another thing is that Bonaire is in the
unique situation of having a Class 1 runway, with the
availability of space to develop. Also, we’re so suitably
located from the U.S. – it’s only a two and a half hour
flight from Atlanta, or four hours from Newark.”
Eighty years after the first flight touched down on this
small, Dutch island in the southern Caribbean, Bo-
naire International Airport is poised for another period
of growth and development. And it is actively looking
for like-minded partners who are as intrepid and con-
fident as its original aviators and risk takers. “Most
times you look at an airport and say ‘Where do I fit?’
because most of the opportunities have been taken,
already,” Nicolaas states. “Bonaire is in a favorable