KRALENDIJK- Bonaire’s Flamingo Airport will finally get an advanced wheelchair lift for wheelchair-dependent passengers.

The elevator had been a fervent wish of the airport management for some time. Although a copy had almost been purchased some time ago, COVID-19 threw a spanner in the works at that time.

The management of the pink airport has recently received approval from the Supervisory Board of the public company. According to interim director Jos Hillen, the order has now been placed. It will take until early 2023 before the device arrives and can actually be deployed.

Degrading

There was a lot of criticism for the lack of a decent way to transfer passengers with wheelchairs on board aircraft. Until now, disabled passengers have to be hoisted on or off board in a special seat via the normal stairs, often in front of other passengers; a state of affairs that was described by those involved as ‘degrading’.