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Queen Beatrix International Airport

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Queen Beatrix
International Airport
Internationale luchthaven
Koningin Beatrix
Aeropuerto Internacional
Reina Beatrix
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAruba Airport Authority N.V.
LocationOranjestad, Aruba
Hub forAruba Airlines
Focus city forAerosucre
Elevation AMSL60 ft / 18 m
Coordinates12°30′05″N 70°00′55″W / 12.50139°N 70.01528°W / 12.50139; -70.01528
Websiteairportaruba.com
Map
AUA is located in Aruba
AUA
AUA
Location in Aruba
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 2,808 9,213 Asphalt
Source: Aruba Airport[1]

Queen Beatrix International Airport (IATA: AUA, ICAO: TNCA) (Dutch: Internationale luchthaven Koningin Beatrix; Papiamento: Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix) is an international airport located in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. It has flight services to the United States, Canada, several countries in the Caribbean, the northern coastal countries of South America, as well as some parts of Europe, notably the Netherlands. It is named after Beatrix of the Netherlands, who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013.

Overview

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The airport offers United States border preclearance facilities.[2]

The airport originally served as main hub for Air Aruba until its bankruptcy in 2000. Before Aruba's separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 it was also one of three hubs for ALM Antillean Airlines as well as home base for Tiara Air until 2016.

A terminal for private aircraft opened in 2007.

Since 2013 the airport is home to Aruba Airlines. The airline has three Airbus A320 family aircraft and two Bombardier CRJ200. The main focus of Aruba Airlines is connecting the region through its hub.

History

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The airport in 1973

In 1934, Manuel Viana launched a weekly mail and passenger service between Aruba and Curaçao, with A.J. Viccellio piloting Loening C-2H Air Yacht PJ-ZAA from a mud-flat runway. Commercial services were taken over by KLM from 24 December 1934. Later[when?] they were transferred to a graded runway known as the KLM field.[3] KLM's Snip, the PJ-AIS a Fokker tri-motor, ushered in the scheduled flying age in Aruba on 19 January 1935. Together with the KLM's "Oriol", the PJ-AIO, also a three-engine Fokker, they flew until 1946, after which they were scrapped. On its bi-weekly Aruba-Curaçao operations, KLM transported 2,695 passengers on 471 flights.[3]

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending Caribbean shipping and the Panama Canal against German submarines.[3] The airfield was renamed Dakota Field; the terminal facilities became Dakota Airport.[3] Flying units assigned to the airfield were:

On 22 October 1955, the airport was named after Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands during a royal visit. It was renamed in 1980 after her accession to the throne.[3]

On 3 March 2021, American Airlines celebrated its 50 years flying to and from Aruba.[4][5]

As part of Phase 1A of Gateway 2030, a massive airport expansion project, the airport built a new U.S. Check-In Terminal with sufficiently advanced baggage handling equipment, thereby relieving U.S.-bound passengers of the burden of reclaiming baggage and undergoing another screening. The first flights began from the new terminal on April 8, 2025.[6]

Airlines and destinations

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The air traffic control tower
The baggage claim area
Welcome sign
The non-USA departures building
Walkway to security and US pre-clearance facilities

Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires–Ezeiza[7]
Seasonal: Córdoba (AR),[7] Mendoza[8]
Air Canada Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau (begins 6 December 2026)[9]
Air Canada Rouge Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Air Century Punta Cana, Santo Domingo–La Isabela
Air Transat Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau (begins 12 December 2026)[10]
American Airlines Charlotte, Miami, Philadelphia
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York–LaGuardia[11]
Arajet Santo Domingo–Las Américas
Avianca Bogotá
Avianca Ecuador Bogotá
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, New York–JFK
Seasonal: Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul[12]
Divi Divi Air Curaçao
Frontier Airlines Atlanta[13]
Gol Linhas Aéreas São Paulo–Guarulhos[14]
JetBlue Boston, Fort Lauderdale,[15] New York–JFK, Newark (ends 8 July 2026)[16]
KLM Amsterdam1
LATAM Colombia Seasonal: Bogotá[17]
LATAM Perú Lima[18]
Porter Airlines Seasonal: Ottawa (begins 7 November 2026),[19] Toronto–Pearson (begins 30 October 2026)[19]
Sky High Santo Domingo–Las Américas
Southwest Airlines Baltimore, Orlando
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Surinam Airways Paramaribo
TUI fly Netherlands Amsterdam2
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, Washington–Dulles
WestJet Toronto–Pearson[20]
Winair Curaçao, Sint Maarten3[21]
Wingo Bogotá, Medellín–JMC
Seasonal: Bucaramanga,[22] Cali
Z Air Bonaire, Curaçao
Notes
  • ^1 KLM's flights operate to and from Bonaire on selected days.
  • ^2 TUI Airlines Netherlands' flights operate between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on selected days. However, the airline does not have fifth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
  • ^3 Winair's flights operate between Aruba and Sint Maarten via Curaçao on selected days.

Statistics

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PassengersYear900,0001,200,0001,500,0001,800,0002,100,0002,400,0002,700,0003,000,00020142016201820202022PassengersAnnual passenger traffic
Busiest US routes from Aruba (2009–2010)[citation needed]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1
 New York–JFK, New York
237,498
 Delta, JetBlue
2
 Miami, Florida
209,364
 American
3
 Newark, New Jersey
145,448
 JetBlue, Continental/United
4
 Atlanta, Georgia
139,547
 Delta
5
 Charlotte, North Carolina
120,362
 US Airways/American
6
 Boston, MA
113,910
 JetBlue, Delta
7
 Philadelphia, PA
67,993
 US Airways/American
8
 Washington–Dulles, VA
27,477
 United
9
 Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois
18,362
 United, US Airways/American
10
 Houston–Intercontinental, TX
15,727
 Continental/United

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 13 January 2010, an Arkefly Boeing 767-300 (registration PH-AHQ), operating Flight 361 from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Queen Beatrix International Airport, declared an emergency after a man claimed to have a bomb on board. A struggle with the flight crew ensued, and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland. Gardaí stormed the plane and arrested the man; he was taken to Shannon Garda station. A passenger who had recently had surgery collapsed in the terminal while waiting for the continuation of the flight, and had to be taken to a local hospital. The replacement aircraft, PH-AHY, also a Boeing 767-300, continued the flight to Aruba. [citation needed]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Specifications". www.airportaruba.com. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  2. ^ Aruba AIrport. "US CBP Preclearance". airportaruba.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Airport History". Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. ^ "AUA Airport: American Airlines Celebrates 50 Years of Service to One Happy Island Aruba – Aruba Today". 10 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  5. ^ "American Airlines Celebrates 50 Years in the Caribbean". St. Thomas Source. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  6. ^ "Aruba Airport Continues Progress in Gateway 2030 Project with Soft Opening of U.S. Check-In Terminal". Routes Online. 29 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b Liu, Jim (12 September 2025). "Aerolineas Argentinas Adds Aruba in 1Q26". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Aerolineas Argentinas Adds Mendoza – Aruba in 1Q26". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Winter 2026-27: Air Canada adds Tenerife, Roatan, Santo Domingo, Merida, Mazatlan". PAX News. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  10. ^ Bruce Parkinson (27 April 2026). "Air Transat Adds 3 Winter Sunspots from YUL: Aruba, Barbados & San José del Cabo". Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  11. ^ "Aruba Airport Winter Flight Schedule Updates". RoutesOnline. Informa Markets. 3 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Trade snow for sunshine: Delta's new flights from MSP to Aruba, St. Maarten and more". 21 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Frontier Airlines 2Q25 Atlanta Network Expansion". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Gol anuncia mais um destino no Caribe". Flap International (in Portuguese). 4 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  15. ^ "JetBlue adds nine new routes from Fort Lauderdale starting November". Street Insider. 10 September 2025.
  16. ^ "JetBlue Removes These 10 Routes While Expanding in Florida". AviationA2Z. 20 May 2026.
  17. ^ "LATAM set to introduce 3 weekly flights from BOG to AUA". Routes. Informa Markets. 9 July 2025.
  18. ^ "LATAM Peru start flight to Aruba". Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Porter Introduces 4 New Winter Destinations for 2026-27 Season, Increases Sun Capacity by Greater Than 150%". Business Wire. 30 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  20. ^ "Toronto, ON, Canada YTO". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 27 (1). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 1156–1162. July 2025. ISSN 1466-8718. OCLC 41608313.
  21. ^ "St. Maarten, St Maarten (Dutch Part) SXM". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 27 (1). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 1000–1000. July 2025. ISSN 1466-8718. OCLC 41608313.
  22. ^ "Bucaramanga tendrá ruta estacional directa a Aruba a partir de junio: conozca las nuevas conexiones que ofrecerá Wingo para Santander". El Tiempo. Retrieved 28 January 2026.

Bibliography

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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