>From Curacao Amigoe.com, 11 March, 2002 (Aruba) Royal Aruban Airlines will hit the skies on March 28th. ARUBA It is apparent from the website of the new Airline Company Royal Aruba Airlines (RAA), that their first flight is planned for the 28th of March. In the first instance they will start with flights between Aruba and Bonaire and Aruba and Curacao and in a later stage, April 25th, between Aruba and Las Piedras, Aruba and Maracaibo, Bonaire and Las Piedras, Bonaire and Maracaibo, Curacao and Las Piedras and Curacao and Maracaibo. Inquiries on the Managing Director of RAA, Marcel Wouterce, indicated that March 28 is a concrete date for the startup of the Company. “ We are working from every nook to meet this date. Our two airplanes yet need to be sent from Germany and the United States to Aruba and spray-painted with the right colors. Following, the pilots need to make some training flights with these planes. Half of the pilots already did the necessary flight simulations, while the other half are currently finishing theirs in Paris.” However, Wouterse pointed out that, meeting the date of March 28 for the first flight, is linked up with a lot of factors. “If one of these factors goes against, then we will probably not meet the date. But we will do our utmost to execute the first flight on March 28th.” Apart from the short flights between the islands and Venezuela, also flights between Aruba, Paramaribo and Amsterdam is wishful, of course with a bigger plane. RAA thinks that there is a need for transatlantic flights via Surinam. “The people from Aruba continually have more money to travel and we think that we can fly for attractive prices,” says Wouterse. According to the air traffic management, two permits are needed for an Airline Company to fly from Aruba First an economic permit is needed. Based on a business plan and a financial plan, a company needs to proof that it can operate for three months without taking possible profit in to account. “At this moment the Governor has to sign the necessary documents for the economic permit for RAA,” says Chris Dammers of the Airline Management. Also an Airline Operating Certificate is necessary in order to fly. The Airline Management also issues this certificate. To obtain the certificate, the handbooks and also the training of the pilots need to be approved and a technical inspection should be in place. The Airline personnel need to demonstrate that they know how to use the handbooks. Finally, the pilots need to proof that they can handle situations like, engine failure, deviation to other airports and a possible hi-jack. RAA did not meet all these requirements yet, to get the permits. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com