Air Belgium to resume passenger operations on July 2, will add Curaçao

Air Belgium (2nd) has made this announcement:

Since the sanitary crisis outbreak, Belgian and international governments have implemented measures and restrictions that are constantly evolving. A clear and long-term outlook is difficult to obtain. In this context, Air Belgium has decided to anticipate future developments and to operate all its passenger flights as from July 2^nd. Furthermore, to complete its flights to the French Antilles, Air Belgium collaborates with Air Caraïbes and will fly to Curaçao, an island in the Netherlands Antilles, as from July 3^rd.

The aviation industry still suffers from a crucial lack of perspective. Air Belgium, as all citizens, is compelled to follow day-to-day changes and developments. The airline is constantly trying to adjust without being able to foresee the consequences of the announcements and decisions taken by the various authorities, whether Belgian, French and/or Caribbean. For this reason and after careful consideration, Air Belgium prefers to plan for a resumption of its passenger flights to the Caribbean from July 2^nd.

“We prefer to choose wisdom since, on the Belgian side, the requirement to present essential reasons for traveling has already been extended twice since the beginning of this year 2021. Also, Martinique has just been reclassified as a red zone by Belgium and joins Guadeloupe, which has also been a red zone for a few weeks. At the same time, the French government still imposes compelling reasons to travel to Guadeloupe and Martinique. According to information received and collected from local stakeholders, these compelling travel conditions are not expected to be lifted for several weeks”, Niky Terzakis, CEO d’Air Belgium.

Air Belgium expects that by July 2^nd, the various vaccination campaigns and the implementation of the European Vaccination Certificate will have progressed and will allow free travel within the European Union, of which Martinique and the Islands of Guadeloupe are part.

To provide more flexibility for travelers who may need to reschedule, Air Belgium is pleased to confirm that they will not interrupt their flight schedule to Fort-de-France during the months of September and October 2021. Flights to Martinique will be operated continuously from July 2^nd onwards. Flights to the islands of Guadeloupe will resume on July 2^nd and will also operate continuously except from September 1^st to October 15^th, 2021.

Air Belgium is expanding its services to the Caribbean by launching a flight from Brussels Charleroi airport to Curaçao via Fort-de-France airport in Martinique.

After launching flights to the French Antilles in December 2019, it is a logical step for the airline to offer the Netherlands Antilles. While the French Antilles naturally attract more French-speaking customers (from Belgium or northern France), the Netherlands Antilles appeal more to Dutch-speaking customers (from Belgium or southern Netherlands).

Flights to Curaçao are now open for booking and will take off on July 3^rd. The flight time between Fort-de-France and Curaçao is one hour and thirty minutes. Passengers in transit to/from Curaçao remain on board the aircraft during the stopover in Fort-de-France.

“Although the current crisis is affecting us terribly, we remain committed to resuming and expanding our operations. We have taken advantage of the last few weeks to work on developing new destinations as well as increasing our fleet through the successful launch of cargo operations to complement our core business. It is with great pleasure that we offer our passengers the opportunity to fly to the beautiful island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles from July onwards”, Niky Terzakis, CEO d’Air Belgium.

Air Belgium has been operating cargo flights for CMA CGM Air Cargo.