Dutch Antilles Express

Dutch Antilles Express
IATA ICAO Call sign
9H DNL DUTCH ANTILLES
Founded2005
Commenced operationsApril 30, 2005
Ceased operationsSeptember 19, 2013
HubsCuraçao International Airport
Focus cities
Fleet size8
Destinations8
HeadquartersWillemstad, Curaçao
Key people
  • Steve Frederick Sloop (CEO)
  • Aldrich Hermelijn (Public Relations Director)
Websitewww.flydae.com

Dutch Antilles Express B.V. was an airline of the Dutch country of Curaçao in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region. It operated high-frequency scheduled services in the Dutch Caribbean to United States, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Haiti, and Suriname. Its main base was at Curaçao International Airport.

Due to an escalating debt from poor market conditions, the government of Curaçao stepped in on May 31, 2011, to keep the airline in the air.[1] The airline has been purchased from Arnold Leonora by the Curaçao government for a cash injection sum of two injections of 1.5m Guilders (approx US$838,000 each).[2] The company slogan was Your Caribbean Wings.

In August 2013, the company's management and employees approached the Curacao government through various departments for a new loan of 5m Guilders (approx. US$2.8 million) to, among other items, pay employee salaries outstanding from July 2013. The appeal for the loan was denied by the Curacao Parliament on August 16, 2013.[3] The Court of First Instance of Curaçao declared DAE bankrupt on August 30, 2013.[4]

  1. ^ "Article luchtvaart nieuws interview minister."
  2. ^ "Curacao government cash injection."
  3. ^ "HOME". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  4. ^ "Article curacaochronicle bankruptcy DAE Archived 2013-09-03 at the Wayback Machine."