Gum Air is a Surinamese airline based at

Zorg en Hoop Airport Zorg en Hoop Airport is an airport serving general aviation in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is west of the Suriname River, between the city quarters of Zorg en Hoop and Flora. The runway length includes a displaced threshold on Run ...

Paramaribo, Suriname Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's po ...

. Gum Air cooperates with Trans Guyana Airways to provide daily flights between Zorg en Hoop Airport (ORG) in Paramaribo, Suriname and Ogle Airport (OGL) in Georgetown, Guyana.

History

Gum Air was founded in 1971 by six brothers of the Gummels family. The company they started in March 1964 was agriculture airspray company named Surinam Sky Farmers and Gum Air its offspring focused more on domestic flights and regional charters. Whereas Surinam Sky Farmers has its base in the rice district of Nickerie at the Wageningen Airstrip together with Overeem Air Service maintaining

Grumman Ag Cat The Grumman G-164 Ag Cat is a single-engined biplane agricultural aircraft, developed by Grumman in the 1950s. Development In 1955, Grumman preliminary design engineers Joe Lippert and Arthur Koch proposed the design for a "purpose-built" cr ...

aircraft, Gum Air has set up its domestic airline at the Zorg en Hoop Airport in the city.

Current operation

Gum Air has its base at Zorg en Hoop airfield in the capital city Paramaribo and now mainly flies with single engine Cessna airplanes and twin-engined de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. Gum Air also owns dedicated Heliport, Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, built in Suriname at the Gummelsweg in the neighborhood of

Kwatta Kwatta is a resort in Suriname, located in the Wanica District. Its population at the 2012 census was 14,151. Kwatta is named after a former cocoa plantation located here. It used to be an agriculture area, but due to its close proximity of Para ...

near the city of

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

, Suriname. Privately owned by the Gummels family the heliport is mainly used for helicopter charters and primarily for offshore development activities within the country. Besides charter flights within Suriname Gum Air also operates scheduled interior services from Paramaribo to places like Benzdorp,

Cottica Cottica Lawa (often called Cottica) is a village in the district of Sipaliwini, Suriname. It is located in the east, along the Marowijne River and the border with French Guiana. The village has a school, and a clinic. History During the 18th c ...

, Gabaka,

Drietabbetje Diitabiki (Sranan Tongo: ''Dritabiki'', Dutch: ''Drietabbetje'') is a Ndyuka village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. Diitabiki is the residence of the gaanman of the Ndyuka people, since 1950, and the location of the oracle. Name Both ...

and Stoelmanseiland. Internationally Gum Air has an agreement with Trans Guyana Airways and together they provide regular scheduled flights between Zorg en Hoop Airport, Paramaribo (Suriname) and

Ogle Airport Eugene F. Correia International Airport is located on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Guyana, east of the capital, Georgetown, in the Demerara-Mahaica region. In 2013, LIAT began scheduled passenger airline flights between the airport and Barb ...

of Georgetown (Guyana). Gum Air has flown various unique types of STOL Short Take Off & Landing aircraft from Suriname in the past such as Dornier DO 28D-1 Skyservant,

GAF Nomad The GAF Nomad is a utility aircraft produced by the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) of Australia in Melbourne. Supported by the Australian Government, design work began in the mid-1960s, and it made its maiden flight on 23 July 1971. Despi ...

, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and also helicopter types such as Agusta-Bell 204B & Bell 206B Jet Ranger II

Future expansion plans

In September 2021 Gum Air placed an order at Cessna for a new Cessna 408 SkyCourier to become the first operator in the Caribbean and Latin America for this new type of twin engine turboprop aircraft planned for delivery in 2023. Gum Air is currently constructing a new 3600-foot runway at its Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, and plans to utilize the SkyCourier for flights between Paramaribo, Georgetown, Port of Spain, and Cayenne. The new airport will mainly support the Oil & Gas, and Cargo sectors with charter flights. De Havilland Twin Otter (17544890334)

Fleet

Gum Air today owns a fleet of eight aircraft plus three helicopters, consisting of four types of aircraft varying from five to 19 seats. One Cessna SkyCourier is on order for delivery in 2023.

Accidents and incidents

*On 10 February 2001 Gum Air's

N24A, registered PZ-TBP was written off when it crashed on a flight from Paramaribo – Zanderij

Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport , also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, and locally referred to simply as JAP, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij and hub for airline carrier Surinam Airways, south of Par ...

(PBM/SMJP) to

Njoeng Jacob Kondre Airstrip Njoeng Jacob Kondre Airstrip is an airstrip serving Njoeng Jacob Kondre, Suriname. Charters and destinations Charter Airlines serving this airport are: Accidents or incidents * On 10 February 2001, Gum Air’s GAF Nomad N24A, registered ...

(ICAO: SMJK). The Nomad plane had lost radio contact. According to personnel at the airstrip in Jacob Kondre it was flying low and crashed into a mountain. All 9 passengers plus the pilot died. *On 21 August 2008 a Gum Air's

Cessna 207 The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...

Skywagon, PZ-TRR, ran off the airstrip at Poesoegroenoe Airstrip (ICAO: SMPG) during take-off when engine failure occurred. All 6 people on board survived, with only two slightly injured. *On 22 November 2008 Gum Air's Cessna 404 Titan, registered PZ-TVC made a forced landing on the road near Gusterie, Suriname, after engine failures. The aircraft came to rest in the bushes and was reported destroyed. No injuries or fatalities occurred in this accident. *On 15 May 2017 Gum Air's Cessna 206 Stationair 6 registered PZ-TVU had a landing gear failure during loading at airstrip Kwamalasamutu (ICAO: SMSM). Airplane gear was later repaired and flown back to homebase

*On 28 July 2021 Gum Air's Cessna 206 Stationair 6 registered PZ-TBG crash landed near the former mining area of Paranam in Suriname. This accident occurred following a loss of engine power, four passengers and female pilot survived with minor injuries.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Gum Air
Official website
Airlines of Suriname Airlines established in 1971 1971 establishments in Suriname Companies of Suriname