Blue Wing Airlines
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Blue Wing Airlines n.v. is an
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
with its head office on the grounds of
Zorg en Hoop Airport Zorg en Hoop Airport is a small airport in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is west of the Suriname River, between the city quarters of Zorg en Hoop and Flora. It is mainly used for general aviation, flight training, emergency medical ...
in
Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...
,
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
.Eight feared dead in Suriname air crash
" ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
''. 16 May 2010. Retrieved on 17 May 2010.
The airline started operations in January 2002 and operates charter and scheduled services from
Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...
to destinations in the interior of
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
,
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and the Caribbean area. Its main base is
Zorg en Hoop Airport Zorg en Hoop Airport is a small airport in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is west of the Suriname River, between the city quarters of Zorg en Hoop and Flora. It is mainly used for general aviation, flight training, emergency medical ...
.
Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...
27 March 2007
The airline is on the list of air carriers banned in the EU for safety violations. They were temporarily removed from the list on 28 November 2007 after implementing a corrective action plan ordered by the EU Transportation Commission. However, on 6 July 2010, the airline was banned again from European and French territory airspace as a result of three accidents involving Blue Wing Airlines: one on 3 April 2008 with 19 fatalities, another accident on 15 October 2009 that led to four unspecified injuries, and a third incident on 15 May 2010 with 8 fatalities. As of 2023, Blue Wing Airlines was banned from operating within the European Union. As of 2024, Blue Wings performs cargo as well as daily scheduled flights to the interior of Suriname and the Caribbean region.


History

PZ-TGP & PZ-TGQ (Cessna U206G, Stationairs 6) and PZ-TGW (Antonov 28) became the first aircraft of Blue Wing Airlines (named after the Blue Wing, a local bird). In January 2002, Blue Wing started operations from Zorg en Hoop airfield in
Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...
with managing director Amichand Jhauw. It started with domestic operations to the many small strips
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
owing to mining activities. In the meantime also scheduled services to neighbor
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
and
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
were offered. During 2004 and 2005, four Antonov 28s were added to the fleet. Earlier, another former ITA Cessna U206G (PZ-TLV) was put into service. In May 2006, the Antonovs were the only aircraft capable of operating from the inland strips during severe flooding and were extensively used for relief flights. In 2007, a
Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...
I (PZ-TSB) was added to the fleet, while at the end of 2007, the first DHC-6 Twin Otter (PZ-TSD) was purchased. In November 2008, again a new aircraft type was added to the fleet when a Reims/Cessna F406 Caravan II (PZ-TSF) arrived. This aircraft is operated as an “executive transport”. Furthermore, a few weeks later, a second DHC-6 Twin Otter (PZ-TSH) was purchased in Australia. In 2010, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PZ-TSK) was added to the fleet, and in March 2015 another Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PZ-TSL) was the latest addition to the Blue Wing Airlines fleet. After a series of safety violations, plane crashes, and insufficient responses to investigators, Blue Wing was put on the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
blacklist of unsafe airlines in 2010. The French aviation authority banned all activities of Blue Wing Airlines over French territory on 1 June 2010 after finding “verified evidence of serious non-compliance" with
Convention on International Civil Aviation The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air trav ...
standards and that neither Surinamese authorities nor Blue Wing Airlines had been able to identify specific issues leading up to each incident. The airline stated that the accidents were caused by inadequate infrastructure at the often uncertified inland airstrips they operated from and the absence of Ground Proximity Warning Systems (GPWS) on board the Blue Wing aircraft. While Blue Wing has never operated in Europe, the airline did operate in
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
, which is why they were subject to French and EU transport authorities.


Fleet

The Blue Wing Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 16 August 2014):


Accidents and incidents

*On 3 April 2008, an
Antonov An-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...
(PZ-TSO) crashed during a go-around at the
Lawa Antino Airstrip Lawa Antino Airstrip is an airstrip serving the gold mining concessions near the town of Benzdorp in Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean ...
in Benzdorp, Suriname. The aircraft crashed into the jungle about 150 meters next to the airstrip and burst into flames. All 19 occupants (17 passengers and two crew) were killed. Among the victims was pilot Soeriani Verkuijl, wife of Blue Wing's Managing Director Amichand Jhauw. Only in late October 2008 was the
Flight Data Recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
discovered during a reconstruction of the wreck. *On 15 October 2009, a second
Antonov An-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...
(PZ-TST) was damaged beyond repair while landing at the Kwamelasemoetoe airstrip close to the Trio Indian village in the south of Suriname on an interior flight from
Zorg en Hoop Airport Zorg en Hoop Airport is a small airport in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is west of the Suriname River, between the city quarters of Zorg en Hoop and Flora. It is mainly used for general aviation, flight training, emergency medical ...
. Of the 8 persons on board only one crewmember and 3 passengers were injured. *A third Blue Wing
Antonov An-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...
(PZ-TSV) crashed on 15 May 2010 over the upper-
Marowijne District Marowijne () is a district of Suriname, located on the north-east coast. Marowijne's capital city is Albina, with other towns including Moengo and Wanhatti. The district borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, the S ...
, approximately north-east of
Poeketi Poeketi or Puketi is a Ndyuka village in Suriname. It lies in Sipaliwini District. On May 15, 2010, a plane crashed near Poeketi. Energy Between 1981 and 1987, electricity was provided by the Puketi hydroelectric power plant. After this powe ...
, Suriname. The two pilots and six passengers died. The plane had taken off from Godo Holo Airstrip. Following this incident, the remaining two Antonovs (PZ-TSA, which is the re-registered PZ-TGW & PZ-TSN) of Blue Wing were grounded indefinitely.


See also

* List of airlines of Suriname *
List of airlines banned in the European Union The European Union (EU) publishes a list of air carriers that are banned from entering the airspace of any of its member states, usually for failing to meet EU regulatory oversight standards. The first version of the list was published in 2006, ...


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Blue Wing Airlines
Blue Wing Airlines
Airlines banned in the European Union Airlines of Suriname Airlines established in 2002 2002 establishments in Suriname Paramaribo