BES Reporter

News from Bonaire, St. Eustatius & Saba

Winair Leaves All Bags for Curaçao Behind

Willemstad- A group of about 20 passengers, traveling on Winair’s flight 806 yesterday evening from Sint Maarten to Curaçao were quite dismayed when they were informed upon arrival that all bags for passengers with destination Curaçao had stayed behind in Sint Maarten. Passengers were also told that their luggage would probably arrive no sooner than… [Read more]

Parliament With Questions About Airline Permits

The Hague- Members of the permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs want to receive more clarity from State Secretary Raymond Knops when it comes to permits granted to airlines in their operation to or from the islands. As the Committee stated in her questions to Knops, there is information circulating that an airline company was recently… [Read more]

Second Chamber Wants to See Faster Road Repairs on Statia

Oranjestad- Member of the permanent Second Chamber Committee for Kingdom Affairs want to know from State Secretary Raymond Knops, why the more or less 40 kilometers of roads in St. Eustatius cannot be repaired faster. The Committee asked Knops if the lack of funds for the road repair is the only problem hampering the execution… [Read more]

Second Chamber Wants Fact sheet on Winair

The Hague- The permanent committee for Kingdom Affairs of the Dutch Second Chamber has asked State Secretary Raymond Knops a number of questions in relation to Winair. Knops was asked to provide a so-called fact sheet with basic data about the Sint Maarten based and owned airline, detailing the ownership situation, key performance indicators, number… [Read more]

Rare Manatee Seen in Bonaire Marine Park

Kralendijk- This morning, July 10th, STINAPA ranger Luigi Eybrecht filmed a West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) swimming in the Bonaire National Marine Park. This very well may be the first confirmed sighting of a manatee in Bonaire. Manatees are harmless marine mammals, also called ‘sea cows’, that feed on marine plants including sea grass,… [Read more]

Situation Point Blanche Prison ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Hopeless’

By Rene Zwart© The Hague – The Committee, set up by the Council of Ministers to supervise the implementation of the improvement plan for the prison on Sint Maarten since 2010, has raised the alarm. The Committee finds the situation ‘untenable’ and finds that the government of the island is not able to achieve significant… [Read more]

Hellen van der Wal New Member Board of Financial Supervision Aruba

Oranjestad, Aruba- The current secretary of the Advisory Council of Aruba, Ms. Hellen van der Wal will become a member of the Board of financial supervision Aruba (CAft) as per August 1st, 2018. Van der Wal has been nominated by Aruba and will succeed the current member Mr. Robert Croes. Ms. Van der Wal will… [Read more]

Phase One of Sint Maarten Airport Roof Repair Completed

Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten- The Managing Board of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), mostly known as SXM Airport on Thursday July 5, 2018, announced the completion of Phase One of the roof repair project at the Terminal Building. The project originally began in March 2018. The completion of this phase is another step towards… [Read more]

Queen Conch (Carco) Still Threatened by Extinction on Bonaire

Kralendijk- The queen conch is considered a delicacy on Bonaire. Evidence of this can be seen at Lac Bay where the remnants of the past can still be seen in the conch shell middens in the area. The fact that people on Bonaire love to eat the conch, does have its impact on the population… [Read more]