Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Hato International Airport, widely known simply as Hato, is Curaçao's only airport and sits on the island's north coast a short distance from the capital, Willemstad. It offers a single long, hard-surfaced runway equipped with an ILS, making it a straightforward and historically rich destination for visiting sim pilots in the southern Caribbean.
Hato International Airport (ICAO: TNCC), also referred to as Curaçao International Airport, is the sole airport serving the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. It is operated by Curaçao Airport Partners under Curaçao Airport Holding and acts as a hub base for Divi Divi Air and Z Air. The field is notable for having one of the longest commercial runways in the Caribbean region, capable of handling aircraft as large as the Boeing 747, and its long wartime and civil aviation history gives it real character for a visiting virtual pilot.
The airport lies on the north coast of Curaçao, about 12 kilometres from Willemstad, near the locality of Hato from which the airfield takes its name. Approach control is provided on 119.6 MHz and tower on 118.3 MHz, with additional frequencies listed for miscellaneous use (131.8 MHz), CATS service operations (24.02 MHz) and a Dutch operations call sign, Ho Post, on 25 MHz.
Hato has a single physical runway, 11/29, of hard surface and lit for night operations. It is recorded at 11,176 feet in length, among the longest commercial runways in the Caribbean, with an instrument landing system serving runway 11. Field elevation is 33 feet.
Approach control operates on 119.6 MHz, with tower on 118.3 MHz. Runway 11 is served by an ILS. Additional frequencies published for the field include a miscellaneous channel on 131.8 MHz, CATS service operations on 24.02 MHz, and a Dutch operations frequency, call sign Ho Post, on 25 MHz.
The airfield began life in the 1930s as Hato Airport, named after the nearby plantation and town of Hato, when the West Indische Government built a runway there; the Snip aircraft landed at Curaçao in December 1934 after a long ferry flight from Amsterdam via Marseille, Alicante, Casablanca, Porto Praia, Paramaribo and La Guaira. During the Second World War, Hato became one of the busiest and most important airfields in the Caribbean, hosting United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force units flying anti-submarine patrols, including the 59th Bombardment Squadron with A-20 Havocs, the 32nd Fighter Squadron with P-40 Warhawks, and the 25th Bombardment Group. On 5 January 1954 the airport was renamed Dr Albert Plesman Airport in honour of the KLM director, who had championed Dutch aviation links to the Caribbean and had died shortly before; the Hato name nonetheless remained in everyday use. In the 1960s, with the anticipated arrival of the Boeing 747, the Netherlands Airport Consultants firm was commissioned to draw up a master plan and extend the runway, and the first KLM Jumbo, the Boeing 747-200 Mississippi, landed on 6 November 1971. Curaçao International Airport N.V. (Curinta) was founded in 1977 to operate the airport, succeeding the government's own Luchthavenbedrijf department, until a public-private partnership was established after 2013 under Curaçao Airport Holding.
Hato today operates as Curaçao's principal international gateway and serves as a hub for Divi Divi Air and Z Air, having formerly been a main base for ALM, KLM, DCA, DAE, Insel Air and JetAir Caribbean. The airport also handles substantial private and business aviation traffic, with a dedicated Jet Centre terminal built to accommodate VIP and charter passengers. Hangars on the west side of the field house Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard assets, including Bombardier Dash 8 maritime patrol aircraft and AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters.