Meet The Winners: Aruba Airport Authority

Speaking at Routes Americas 2025, Aruba Airport Authority (AUA) discussed its wealth of recent successes that led to record-breaking growth and the routes that attributed to this achievement.

Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) surpassed its 2024 passenger forecast, serving more than 3.2 million travelers—marking a 14% year-over-year increase in passenger movements and a more than 15% rise in seat capacity.

The airport now offers 45 nonstop routes across 28 airlines, with its latest partnership bringing Gol Linhas Aéreas into the network. In December 2024, GOL launched service to São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), providing connections not only to São Paulo but also to key Brazilian cities, including Rio de Janeiro (GIG), Belo Horizonte (CNF), Brasília (BSB), Porto Alegre (POA), and Manaus (MAO). The airline also offers onward connections to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Jo-Anne Meaux-Arends, aviation business development executive at AUA, told Routes that the team identified untapped opportunities across Latin America, shaping the airport’s air service development strategy. As a result, AUA now operates more than 30 weekly flights from major Latin American hubs.

In addition to GOL’s launch, LATAM Airlines increased its Lima-Aruba service to 5X-weekly flights during the winter 2024-25 season. LATAM introduced the route in December 2023 and credited its expansion to strong demand.

Avianca is also strengthening regional connectivity, reintroducing a nonstop Medellín-Aruba service in June 2024, reinforcing links between Colombia and the Caribbean.

U.S. connectivity is also expanding, with Delta Air Lines resuming a 2X-weekly service to Minneapolis (MSP) in December 2024. Sun Country Airlines, which already operates the route, also increased frequencies from weekly to 3X-weekly in January 2025.

Delta has also expanded other U.S. routes for winter 2024-25. In December 2024, it resumed daily service to Boston (BOS) and increased Atlanta (ATL) flights from 10X-weekly to 2X-daily. Service from New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) grew to eight weekly flights beginning in January 2025. With these expansions, Delta expects an 8% increase in seat capacity and a 6% rise in flights compared to the previous winter season.

Elsewhere, American Airlines resumed its Chicago O’Hare (ORD) service in November 2024 while adding frequency on its Philadelphia (PHL) route. United Airlines also expanded service from Washington Dulles (IAD) to daily.

In response to rising passenger numbers, AUA is moving forward with Gateway 2030, a large-scale infrastructure expansion aimed at modernizing facilities, improving capacity, and integrating sustainability initiatives.

Alongside infrastructure developments, AUA have increased its promotional efforts across the air service development community, sponsoring the Meeting System and Information Hub at Routes Americas 2025. “We believe strongly in these types of events—80% of our routes originated from conversations at Routes,” Meaux-Arends said. “We love the creative ideas the Routes team brings to each conference and are very supportive of this.”

Additionally, AUA utilizes the Routes 360 platform to connect with airlines. “It’s a perfect tool for direct communication. Several airlines have reached out to us because of the information we share,” Meaux-Arends added.

Recognizing its success in route development and industry engagement, AUA was named the winner of the Under 4 Million Passengers category at the Routes Awards in Nassau & Paradise Island.