MARIGOT, St. Martin – Several months after being acquired by the Edeis group and the collectivité of Saint-Martin, Air Antilles has finally received the necessary air transport certificate (CTA) from the French civil aviation authority. 

This allows the carrier to resume flight operations. The airline hopes to reconnect the islands of Saint-Barthélemy, French St. Martin, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. During the past period, efforts were made to meet the requirements of the Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC), such as making the four remaining aircraft airworthy again and retraining pilots. The collectivité of Saint-Martin and other shareholders have responded with relief to the news. Tickets will soon be available for sale through the usual channels. 

Winair and CaribSky

Air Antilles was a significant partner of Winair, based in Dutch St. Maarten, providing aircraft for longer routes to destinations such as Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. A prolonged labor dispute led to a controlled bankruptcy last year and a restart in a much smaller form. 

Before the bankruptcy, cooperation took place with Winair and Liat in the CaribSky Alliance, but whether this will be revived is still unknown. Liat, based in Antigua, is also undergoing a restart after the settlement of the bankruptcy of the operation that has been ongoing since 2020.