THE HAGUE – Although the evaluation of the ferry connection that has been set up from St. Eustatius and Saba to St. Maarten and between the two smallest BES islands is still some time away, it is now clear that the ferry is now carrying more passengers than the airplane.

Between December 2021 and July 2022, 9090 passengers boarded the Makana, while 7625 passengers boarded an aircraft during the same period. State Secretary Alexander Van Huffelen writes this to the House of Representatives, based on her earlier promise to inform the House about progress.

Van Huffelen expects a more extensive evaluation of the ferry to be ready in the first quarter of 2023.

Subsidy

The ferry connection is considerably cheaper than travel by plane. It should however be noted here that the ferry connection is heavily subsidized, while the flights are not.