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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

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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.

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 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.

“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 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.

The industry also has indirect spin-off effects across all sectors of the economy, particularly the hotels, restaurants, wholesale, retail trade and transportation sectors. Furthermore, the tourism sector contributes to the economy in terms of investments and government income. “Regarding the development of our tourism industry, we want to competitively position Curaçao to achieve the traffic success that we believe is within our reach. Our traffic concentration in the European market has booked positive airlift developments over the last couple of years, and we are very actively looking to greatly expand consumer awareness of Curaçao in the U.S. market as well. Our airport expansion definitely represents an opportunity for making this happen. At this moment, we have a functional and efficient airport business and operational platform. Curaçao definitely is a uniquely appealing and attractive destination but is still a hidden gem to the world. To receive more airlifts from the U.S., we need to stimulate this market with implementation of creative and out of the box programs. An increase of airlift from the U.S. will come if we create awareness about all possibilities that Curaçao has to offer. The greater the demand from the States, the easier it will be for the airlines to establish on the island. We can’t be afraid, we need to step up and make things happen!”, he comments.

CAP’s vision is to further develop and operate Curaçao International Airport to become one of the best airports in the Caribbean region. The airport is being placed in the forefront of innovation in airport management and passenger experience. It is important to mention that the airport has been selected as the 7th best regional airport in the Central America & Caribbean region by the ‘Skytrax World Airport Awards 2019’. Skytrax introduced an Airport Customer Satisfaction survey for passengers to make their own personal choices regarding the airport with the best customer service and facilities. The airport has also been selected as a shortlisted nominee for the Routes of Americas 2020 awards, which recognizes excellence in airport and destination marketing. It provides the region’s airports and tourism authorities with the opportunity to showcase how their organization has excelled in air service development marketing over the last year. All of those elements bode well for Hato International as the airport continues the work to grow its network footprint and expand its connection to the world.

The private consortium sees the airport expansion as a tangible expression of its long-term commitment to the airport, government and overall development of Curaçao. “We see the airport as an incentive for growth; for helping the island plan and execute a master strategy for tourism that will assist the island to achieve its full potential. I believe in a bright future for our island. We are moving positively into the right direction. I stand for a call for action to unite in a ‘coalition of the willing’ supporting innovative programs and pro-active public-private initiatives to promote the Curaçao brand and attract more tourists. If Curaçao succeeds, CAP succeeds!”, he concludes.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID19), CAP has been carefully monitoring the situation and stepping up its sanitation efforts in response to the spread of the virus. CAP is working closely with the government and Public Health Authorities of Curaçao to ensure that the very latest guidance is communicated and implemented as the situation continues to develop. First and foremost, the maintenance of a safe port of entry is top priority by encouraging practices of basic hygiene to protect the health of employees of the airport, passengers, customers, visitors, and others.

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