CUR AÇAO AIRPORT PARTNERS
@Courtesy CAP
42 42
CURAÇAO AIRPORT PARTNERS DISCUSSES POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS There’s a special energy you feel the moment you land at the Curaçao International Airport. From the architecture to the automated immigration kiosk, the fresh modern atmosphere makes this airport quite different from any other Caribbean airport. In the last couple of years, Curaçao Airport Partners (CAP) has been managing a major airport transformation project, one that has turned the Dutch Caribbean airport, also know as Hato International Airport, into a new exemplar for the region. WRITER: DESI DIJKHUIZEN
The major accomplishment was the completion of the airport expansion project, which initiated in 2014 and was completed in December 2018. This successful renovation improved and increased traffic to accommodate up to 2.5 million passenger movements on an annual basis. The Curaçao Business Magazine received the opportunity to interview Ralph Blanchard, CEO of CAP, about the airport expansion process, growing airlift possibilities and his view on the Curaçao tourism industry.
Jong (the Netherlands) and CCR (Brazil). A 30-year concession agreement was signed with the Government of Curaçao, which provides that the private airport operator has undertaken responsibility for the financial, operational, and developmental risks of Curaçao International Airport from 2003 until 2033. This allows optimal managerial and financial efficiency, while achieving and exceeding international standards in airport operations and management.
Several valued airline partners serve the modern Curaçao International Airport. Any part of the world is accessible through Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam airline alliances. CAP is a partnership between private international investors Aport (Zurich Airport), Janssen De
“In 2014, we started upgrading the airport infrastructure and improving the operating and business platform that CAP uses to support its services and to ensure the competitive success of our airport. The logistics of the airport were not up to par considering today’s standards
CURAÇAO BUSINESS | EDITION 1 | 2020
and everyone agreed that something had to be done. We were in need of change. The new terminal needed to have a modern façade to project the future of Curaçao. Our major focus was to expand capacity, structural changes, operational efficiencies, and overall gain a more functional entity. CAP, which consists of 230 employees, sees a very promising future for Curaçao and will do its part to make certain that the full potential of the airport is achieved”, Ralph Blanchard mentions at the beginning of the interview. Tourism, which has been a thriving industry, provides a solid foundation for growth. It remains one of Curaçao’s most important industries in terms of real value added, foreign exchange earnings, and employment.
