Kralendijk- The airlift situation of Bonaire is getting more unstable and more dramatic by the day, especially where flights to Curaçao and Aruba are concerned.

Insel Air this morning proved all together unable to execute the first 2 flights of the day, originally scheduled for 7.55 and 10.20 this morning. Although passengers on the flight 7i302, which was supposed to leave Bonaire at 7.55AM this morning, were notified yesterday evening that the flight would now leave at 9.55AM, in the end none of the flights were executed according to the adapted schedule.

According to Insel Air ground staff, both Fokker50 aircraft had technical issues this morning. Even around 2PM no exact hour of departure for said flights could be given as of yet. Later during the day the ‘status monitor’ of the airline indicated the first flight of the day would now depart around 5.30 in the afternoon.

The delays caused serious problems for various travelers who had connections to Miami and Colombia in particular.

Although the agents from Air Handling Services, representing Insel Air, did all they could help out the stranded passengers, they had no immediate solution to the situation which presented itself today.

Passengers on the island are extremely concerned that even taking a morning flight is no longer a guarantee to make a connecting flight out of Curaçao in the afternoon or early evening hours. These days Insel Air often operates the whole network with one single Fokker50 airplane. Once a technical problem presents itself, the island is virtually isolated.

Although Divi Divi Air is an alternative to the flights by Insel Air, the Britten-Norman Islander airplanes can only transport about 8 passengers per flight. Most Divi Divi flights are fully booked days and sometimes even weeks in advance, leaving passengers no alternative when Insel Air operations are disrupted like today.