Divi Divi Air N.V. is a small regional service airline in

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. It was established in 2001, based in Curaçao. It’s known as "Divi". The airline was titled from the

Divi-divi ''Libidibia coriaria'', synonym ''Caesalpinia coriaria'', is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and northern and western South America. Common names include divi-divi, cascalote, guaracabuya, gu ...

trees which grow in the region.

History

PJ-SUN, Britten-Norman BN-2A-8 Islander - Divi Divi Air

Divi Divi Air was founded on July 28th, 2000 and commenced operations in 2001 with a fleet of Britten-Norman BN-2P Islanders to Bonaire. For over 20 years, Divi Divi Air has been flying a passenger route between

and

Bonaire Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC i ...

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

was added as a destination by the airline in February 2018. According to director Germaine Richie-Durand, the intention is to improve the connection between Bonaire and Aruba. "Divi wants to bring the population of the three islands closer together," says Richie-Durand. According to the Divi director, the Twin Otter will gradually be deployed more broadly on the routes between islands. Divi Divi Air began flights out of Curaçao to Aruba on February 15, 2018. This was followed by the launch of operations to Aruba out of Bonaire on February 17, 2018. The expansion signals that Divi Divi Air has joined

Aruba Airlines Aruba Airlines (legally ''Arubaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'') is the flag carrier and the sole airline of Aruba. The airline, founded in 2006, providing scheduled and charter air transport for passengers to 13 destinations. Aruba Airlines' ...

and, formerly,

Insel Air Insel Air (formally ''Insel Air International B.V.'') was a Dutch Caribbean carrier that served as the national airline of Curaçao. It was headquartered in Maduro Plaza, Willemstad. Insel Air last served five destinations throughout the Caribbe ...

as the only known airlines connecting the Dutch Caribbean's ABC islands. The Curaçaoan airline operates the Curaçao-Aruba service at least two times daily, the Curaçao-Bonaire service approximately ten times daily, while the flights out of Bonaire to Aruba are scheduled as one time weekly. All flights are operated by

Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

and the

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

, as Divi Divi Air strives to be an efficient and reliable airline for all the travel needs of people traveling between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. In October 2018, it was announced that Divi Divi Air, in collaboration with

Corendon Dutch Airlines Corendon Dutch Airlines is a Dutch charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Lijnden, Haarlemmermeer. It is a sister company of Corendon Airlines and Corendon Airlines Europe. History Corendon Dutch Airlines is the Dutch branch of the ' ...

and the Curaçao Tourism Board, would commence flights to Sint Maarten and Brazil for the winter season. Corendon will station a Boeing 737-800 in Curaçao as part of a plan to make some of its fleet available for charter flights or on behalf of third parties during the quieter winter season in Europe. The aircraft was also to be used to execute flights to Aruba. In April of 2020, it was announced that Divi Divi Air welcomed its third Britten-Norman BN-2P Islanders into the family. Also, a special 'Iguana Divi' livery was unveiled. This special livery is painted on their new

Destinations

Fleet

Current fleet

As of June 2021, the Divi Divi Air passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft: As of April 2020, the Divi Divi Air private fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Former fleet

Over the years, Divi Divi Air has operated the following aircraft types:

Accidents

On October 22, 2009, a Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander operating as

Divi Divi Air Flight 014 Divi Divi Air Flight 014 (some sources refer to it as Flight 016), was a scheduled commuter flight from Hato International Airport in Curaçao to Flamingo International Airport in Bonaire carrying a single pilot and nine passengers, which on 22 ...

suffered an engine failure and ditched into the ocean five minutes away from Bonaire. The pilot was knocked unconscious on impact; passengers could not undo his safety harness and the pilot went down with the aircraft. Rescue vessels picked up all nine passengers.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.flydivi.com, Divi Divi Air official website Airlines of Curaçao Airlines of the Netherlands Antilles Airlines established in 2001 2001 establishments in the Netherlands Antilles