Sneek: Statia has a New Airport, but hardly any Flights

ORANJESTAD- Councilman Koos Sneek of the List Sneek during an Island Council meeting on Thursday showed himself quite critical on Governments stance when it comes to the connectivity of the island. Koos wondered why the Dutch installed Government had decided to invest heavily in a new airport terminal, if no investment is made in more flights serving the island.
“The Government commissioner is following the civil servants of The Hague too much. Now that we have a multimillion new airport, we have a lousy 3 flights serving the airport, and we are now focussing on a ferry service, rather than on more flights.
Tax haven
Sneek also questioned how a contract for the Ferry Service could have been awarded to a company of an island which has a reputation of being a Tax Haven. “Instead of looking for local providers, we have gone to a foreign provider, and on top of that one based in a Tax Haven”, said Sneek.
While WINAIR has received loans from The Hague to execute regular flights to St. Eustatius, the island still only receives a fraction of the flights it used to receive before the start of Covid-19. Observers fear the current air service to the island is by far not enough to keep up with increased tourism activity on the island.