Queen Beatrix International Airport

Queen Beatrix International Airport, is an international airport located in Oranjestad, Aruba. It has flight services to the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, most countries in the Caribbean, the northern coastal countries of South America, Canada, and some parts of Europe, notably the Netherlands. It is named after Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the now-retired Queen and former head of state of Aruba.OverviewThe airport offers US Border Pre-clearance facilities. A terminal for private aircraft opened in 2007. This airport used to serve as the hub for bankrupt airline Air Aruba, which was for many years an international airline. Before Aruba's separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 it was also one of three hubs for Air ALM.HistoryIn 1934, Manuel Viana launched a weekly mail and passenger service between Aruba and Curacao, with A.J. Viccellio piloting Loening C-2H Air Yacht PJ-ZAA from a mud-flat runway. Commercial services were taken over by KLM from December 24, 1934, and later transferred to a graded runway known as KLM field.During World War II the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending Caribbean shipping and the Panama Canal against German submarines. The airfield was renamed Dakota Field, and the terminal facilities became Dakota Airport. Flying units assigned to the airfield were: