WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao has secured nine new draft aviation agreements during the international aviation summit ICAN 2025. The agreements were negotiated with Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Switzerland, Ecuador, Canada, Rwanda and Morocco—the latter two at their own request.
The memoranda of understanding form the foundation for future formal bilateral air service agreements, which must still be approved by the Kingdom Council of Ministers before they can be officially signed and enter into force. In practice, however, the Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) is already applying the negotiated provisions.
Global Negotiation Round Brings Major Progress
The agreements were signed by Peter Steinmetz, Director of the CCAA, who represented the Curaçao government at ICAN 2025, the annual global negotiation week organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
This year's edition, held in the Dominican Republic, brought together representatives from 87 countries and resulted in more than 400 newly negotiated or renewed aviation agreements worldwide.
According to Steinmetz, the nine draft agreements significantly expand opportunities for airlines to launch new routes or increase existing services. This, he said, strengthens prospects for Curaçao’s aviation sector, tourism industry and overall economic growth.
A Liberal Model: Wider Commercial Rights for Airlines
Negotiators describe the outcome as a “very liberal” model. In aviation terms, this typically means that countries grant one another broad commercial rights—often including:
Permission to transport passengers and cargo directly between both countries
Freedom to operate flights in both directions without restrictions on frequency, capacity or aircraft type
The option to designate multiple airlines
The possibility to operate beyond to third countries (depending on the final annexes)
The exact scope of these so-called Freedoms of the Air will become clear once the definitive treaty documents are published.
Curaçao Expands Its International Aviation Framework
For Curaçao, the development marks the first time the island establishes a series of explicit bilateral aviation arrangements at its own level with these nine countries. Until now, Curaçao largely relied on basic rights under the Chicago Convention, such as overflight and technical landing rights, but lacked formal commercial air traffic rights negotiated directly for Curaçao.
The new draft agreements therefore represent a significant expansion of the island’s international negotiating capacity and could play an important role in shaping Curaçao’s position within the regional aviation network in the coming years.