“US Consulate personnel forbidden from flying with Insel-Air”

Due to several technical defects in the last few weeks, the US Consulate in Curacao forbids its staff members from flying with InselAir, an airline from Curacao. In a original press release published on the 1st of February: “The US Consulate General in Curacao informs US citizens that it is temporarily prohibited for US Consulate personnel to take flights on Insel Air.” A very striking element of this first sentence of the press release is the explicit addressing of US citizens, who can absolutely not be touched by prohibitions laid upon US Consulate personnel.

Further: “The Consulate adopted this policy following an internal view of safetyrelated considerations. On December 27, 2016, an Insel Air flight bound for Curacao was forced to land in Colombia due to an inability to pressurize the cabin. On January 13, 2017, an Insel Air flight bound for Miami lost cabin pressure and was forced to make an emergency landing.” “The Consulate understands that, in the last six months, four other InselAir flights have returned to Curacao after takeoff due to pressurization or electrical problems. Other safety considerations have lead Aruban and Curacaoan authorities to ground a number of aircrafts for further inspection. This policy applies only to the official travel of US Consulate personnel and will be reevaluated as InselAir’s safety condition improves.”