Caricom Airways

Caricom Airways
IATA ICAO Call sign
— CRB CARIBBEAN COMMUTER[1]
FoundedApril 2004
Ceased operationsSeptember 2018
Operating basesZorg en Hoop Airport
HubsJohan Adolf Pengel International Airport
Frequent-flyer programCaricom Privilege & Caricom Privilege BIZ
AllianceSurinam Airways & METS
HeadquartersParamaribo, Suriname
Key peopleSteven Rory Michael Chin-A-Kwie (CEO) & (Managing Director)
WebsiteCaricom Airways

Caricom Airways, which stands for Caribbean Commuter Airways, was a regional airline from the Caribbean, with the headquarters of the company at Paramaribo, Suriname. From the down-town Zorg en Hoop Airport in Suriname, Caricom Airways mainly flew charter flights to various destinations in the interior of Suriname, the Caribbean and Northern Brazil.[2][3]

Caricom Airways had plans for regular flights to regional destinations. The airline had earlier temporarily set those plans aside for cooperation with Surinam Airways (SLM = Surinaamse Luchtvaart Maatschappij). As its feeder commuter airline Caricom Airways carried out few scheduled flights to the hinterland of Suriname for SLM. This National airline, Surinam Airways (SLM), in collaboration with Caricom Airways, reintroduced domestic service to various destinations in Suriname using three aircraft belonging to Caricom Airways: two Islanders and a Cessna 206. Operational control remained in the hands of Caricom Airways. SLM periodically performed quality checks on the aircraft and audited Caricom Airways. Passengers were eventually able to book these domestic flights through SLM's worldwide booking, which the airline had hoped to spur the local tourism industry. This joint venture also included METS Tours, a subsidiary of Surinam Airways. Caricom Airways retained its identity but joined SLM's quality program and flew with their colours.[4][5]

Caricom Airways was earlier planning to add four 50 seat-turboprops to its fleet of smaller Islander, Cessna and Piper aircraft to launch regional scheduled flights. The airline did not finalize this flight schedule, but the plan was to serve Boa Vista International Airport (BVB), Bridgetown Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), Georgetown Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) and St. Lucia Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) from Paramaribo Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM). It had previously planned to operate scheduled flights to several Eastern Caribbean islands from its Caribbean hub at Saint Lucia but never received the necessary approvals.[6]

  1. ^ ICAO Document 8585 Edition 139
  2. ^ "CARICOM Airways grounded inside OECS". Jamaica Gleaner. 31 Dec 2010. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
  3. ^ "CARICOM chair: Six airlines interested in replacing LIAT". The Daily Herald. 7 Jul 2020. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
  4. ^ "Surinam Airways to reintroduce domestic service". Caribbean News Now. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  5. ^ "Caricom Airways partners with SLM - DWTonline.com". www.dwtonline.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  6. ^ "LIAT Chairman wants Caricom meeting as international carriers cut flights". Stabroek News. 31 Dec 2012. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.