Curaçao International Airport

Hato International Airport Curaçao International Airport
IATA: CUR – ICAO: TNCC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Curaçao Airport Holding
Operator	Curaçao Airport Partners
Serves	Curaçao
Location	Willemstad, Curaçao
Hub for	Insel Air Divi Divi Air EZAir
Elevation AMSL	29 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	12°11′20″N 068°57′35″W / 12.18889°N 68.95972°W / 12.18889; -68.95972Coordinates: 12°11′20″N 068°57′35″W / 12.18889°N 68.95972°W / 12.18889; -68.95972
Website	curacao-airport.com
Map
CUR Location in Curaçao
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 3,410 11,188 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 1,700,000 Freight (tonnes) 12,023 Movements 40,483
Source: DAFIF,[1] Zurich Airport[2]

Hato International Airport or Curaçao International Airport (formerly Dr. Albert Plesman International Airport) (IATA: CUR, ICAO: TNCC) is the airport of Willemstad, Curaçao. It has services to the Caribbean region, South America, North America and Europe. Hato Airport is a fairly large facility, with the third longest commercial runway in the Caribbean region after Rafael Hernández Airport in Puerto Rico and Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe. The airport serves as a main base for Insel Air.

History

World War II

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force conducting antisubmarine patrols. Flying units using the airfield were:

• 59th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command) 10 March 1942 – 13 July 1943 (A-20 Havoc)
• 32d Fighter Squadron (36th Fighter Group, Antilles Air Command, XXVI Fighter Command) 9 March 1943 – 13 March 1944, (P-40 Warhawk)

Detachment operated from: Dakota Field, Aruba, 9 March 1943 – 9 March 1944

Detachment operated from: Losey Army Airfield, Puerto Rico, 9 March-4 June 1944

• 25th Bombardment Group (VI Bomber Command), 1 August-5 October 1943

Later development

A new terminal was officially opened in 2006 and it accommodates a maximum of 1.6 million passengers per year.^[3]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Notes

• ^1 KLM's flights operate from Sint Maarten to Curaçao on selected days. However, the airline does not have cabotage rights to transport passengers solely between Sint Maarten and Curaçao.
• ^2 PAWA Dominicana's flights operate to and from Aruba. However, the airline does not have cabotage rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba and Curaçao.
• ^3 TUI Airlines Netherlands's flights operate between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on selected days. However, the airline does not have cabotage rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

Cargo

Notes

• ^1 Emirates's flight operates from Quito to Curaçao as a fuel stop, to continue to Amsterdam and Dubai.

Coast Guard Air Station Hato

Located at the west side of Hato Airport there are hangars for the two Bombardier Dash 8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. This was until 2007 a naval airbase of the Royal Netherlands Navy who operated the base for 55 years. With a wide variety of aircraft in the past years Fireflies, Avengers, Trackers, Neptunes, Fokker F-27's, P-3C Orions, Fokker F-60's and several helicopters. After the political decision to sell all Orions the airbase wasn't needed anymore.

The west end of the airport is a USAF Forward Operating Base (FOB). The base hosts AWACS and transport aircraft. Until 1999 the USAF operated a small fleet of F-16 fighters from the FOB.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

1. ↑ Airport information for TNCC at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
2. ↑ Curaçao factsheet. Zurich Airport.
3. ↑ Curaçao International Airport (official website)
4. ↑ http://www.entornointeligente.com/articulo/8345653/Curacao-Aruba-Airlines/

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. 

External links

• Airport information for TNCC at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Accident history for CUR at Aviation Safety Network

USAAF Sixth Air Force in World War II
Previously: Panama Canal Air Force (1940-1941); Caribbean Air Force (1941-1942)
Airfields	Caribbean Coolidge (Antigua) Dakota (Aruba) Batista (Cuba) Camaguey (Cuba) Hato (Curacao) Vernam (Jamaica) Arecibo (Puerto Rico) Borinquen (Puerto Rico) Losey (Puerto Rico) Benedict (Saint Croix) Beane (Saint Lucia) St. Thomas Airport (Saint Thomas) Carlsen (Trinidad) Piarco Airport (Trinidad) Waller (Trinidad) Canal Zone Albrook France Howard Panama Aguadulce Anton Calzada Larga Chame David La Chorrera Madden Patilla Point Pocri Río Hato Central and South America Belem (Brazil) Atkinson (British Guiana) Zandery (Dutch Guiana) Salinas (Ecuador) Baltra (Galápagos Islands) Guatemala City (Guatemala) Talara (Peru)
Units	Commands VI Bomber Command VI Fighter Command XXVI Fighter Command XXXVI Fighter Command VI Air Force Service Antilles Air Command Wings 6th Fighter 13th Bombardment 19th Composite 24th Composite Groups Fighter 16th Fighter 32d Fighter 36th Fighter 37th Fighter 53d Fighter Bomber 6th Bombardment 9th Bombardment 25th Bombardment 40th Bombardment Reconnaissance 72d Reconnaissance Squadrons 1st Depot Repair 20th Troop Carrier 23d Antisubmarine 91st Reconnaissance
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth