Unequal Treatment of Air and Sea Transport: Time for a Public Service Obligation in Caribbean Air Travel

In recent weeks, mobility in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom has once again attracted renewed attention. It started with the plea of a respected lawyer in Curaçao, who argued that there should be more competition on inter-island flights. In his view, consumers cannot rely on the small airlines currently operating these routes: too little supply at too high a price.

I noticed that the response to this plea remained silent for quite some time, apparently because there was little to counter his argument. Still, I fear his wish for larger carriers to compete in these “lucrative” markets will not materialize. Multiple studies, including research by the Economic Research Foundation (SEO), have shown that inter-island routes in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are too thin to operate profitably with large aircraft. History has already demonstrated this more than once.

Comparisons with the European market repeatedly miss the point, both in terms of scale, flight duration, and pricing. Meanwhile, the discussions between The Netherlands and the BES islands on subsidizing air transport repeatedly end up stuck in bureaucratic quicksand. Yet the Dutch government, for the third time now, has decided to subsidize the Makana ferry. Talk about market distortion.

Winair, which has operated inter-island flights since 1961, is always the one left in the cold. Since the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the airline has kept itself afloat without any government support. The ferry, however, receives subsidies on the very same routes under the label of “public service” to make inter-island travel affordable. The Dutch State still owns a stake in Winair, but it has no oversight of how Makana ferry spends its subsidies. So how does accountability take place in this case?

After the departure of the driving forces behind the DCCA airport cooperation, there has also been a deafening silence on that front. The Ministry of Infrastructure even decided to shift people and resources elsewhere, putting an end to discussions about sustainability, accessibility, and safety.

From the current (double) caretaker governments we should expect little more, as has been the case over the past eighteen months. But there may be hope if, after the elections on October 29, a new cabinet takes a different approach. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to subsidies for a Public Service Obligation (PSO). All the materials for assessment have already been written and archived. What remains is to prove that the Dutch government is serious about the legitimate demands of island residents for sustainable, safe, reliable, and affordable transportation.

It should not be that difficult.

Hans de Jong