WILLENSTAD/KRALENDIJK- A Court Case between Colombian air services provider Servicios Panamericanos Aéreos S.A.S. (Sarpa) and Fundashon Mariadal against Minister Charles Cooper and Dutch Caribbean Air Services Provider (DC-ANSP), will be heard by the Court in First Instance in Willemstad on Wednesday morning.

The plaintiffs seek an Interim Injunction via the Court to obtain permission for Sarpa to conduct inter-island ambulance flights. Sarpa and Mariadal allege that Cooper unjustly withholds the necessary permits, leading to DC-ANSP’s refusal to provide services to Sarpa. 

Minister Cooper contends that the existing protocol between Curaçao and Colombia does not allow for such flights. Additionally, he argues that local providers offer air ambulance services, negating the need to grant foreign companies so-called Seventh Freedom Rights required for such flights. 

Escalation

Cooper has also suggested that Fundashon Mariadal and Sarpa, not he, are culpable for escalating the situation, claiming they were repeatedly informed that their desired structure would not be permitted. 

Lawyers Wijnand and Woudstra from HBN Law will please the case of Sarpa and Mariadal, while lawyer jurist Giselle Hollander represents the Government of Curaçao.