Insel Air must pay its debts

Insel Air can no longer keep its creditors in Suriname waiting for too long because of a verdict that was announced by a judge in Curaçao. The court has given the airline until August 2018 to pay its debts. Attorney AnneMarel Linger concluded that the verdict is not valid in Suriname. The attorney did, however, point out that the Surinamese creditors would principally also have to wait one year for payment because Insel Air has no assets in Suriname which could be seized with a court order. Insel Air reportedly owes several parties in Suriname money. There are reportedly about 800 people who are still waiting for a refund due to the fact that Insel Air had cancelled its flights due to various irregularities. “Insel Air reportedly does not want to give these people a refund but a new ticket”, Riaz Mohoamedjoesoef, chairman of the Association of Surinamese Travel Agents (ASRA), told Times of Suriname in a previous interview. Insel Air must also pay huge sums of money in foreign currency to the Civic Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (Casas), the Aviation Service and Airport Management. ASRA is also on the list of creditors who are waiting for Insel Air to pay off its debts. Insel Air had initially planned on resuming commercial flights to Suriname on November 20 but eventually moved the date to December 18. There have reporetdly been several talks between the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication and a delegation from Insel Air about the return of the airline to Suriname. Joyce Blokland, director at the Transport Division at the Ministry of Transport, pointed out that Insel Air would first have to pay up before it could start flying to Suriname again. Insel Air must first reach an agreement with its Surinamese creditors before it can be given permission to fly to Suriname again.