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| Founded | September 16, 1971 | ||||||
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| Operating bases | Zorg en Hoop Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 11 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Paramaribo, Suriname | ||||||
| Key people | Dean Gummels (MD) | ||||||
| Website | gumair | ||||||
Gum Air is a Surinamese airline based at Zorg en Hoop Airport in Paramaribo, Suriname. Gum Air cooperates with Trans Guyana Airways to provide daily flights between Zorg en Hoop Airport (ORG) in Paramaribo, Suriname and Ogle Airport (OGL) in Georgetown, Guyana.
Gum Air was founded in 1971 by six brothers of the Gummels family. The company they started in March 1964, was agriculture airspray company named Surinam Sky Farmers and Gum Air its offspring focused more on domestic flights and regional charters. [1] Whereas Surinam Sky Farmers has its base in the rice district of Nickerie at the Wageningen Airstrip together with Overeem Air Service maintaining Grumman Ag Cat aircraft, Gum Air has set up its domestic airline at the Zorg en Hoop Airport in the city.
Gum Air has its base at Zorg en Hoop airfield in the capital city Paramaribo and now mainly flies with single engine Cessna airplanes and twin-engined de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.
Gum Air also owns dedicated Heliport, Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, built in Suriname at the Gummelsweg in the neighborhood of Kwatta near the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Privately owned by the Gummels family the heliport is mainly used for helicopter charters and primarily for offshore development activities within the country.
Besides charter flights within Suriname Gum Air also operates scheduled interior services from Paramaribo to places like Benzdorp, Cottica, Gabaka, Drietabbetje and Stoelmanseiland.
Internationally Gum Air has an agreement with Trans Guyana Airways and together they provide regular scheduled flights between Zorg en Hoop Airport, Paramaribo (Suriname) and Ogle Airport of Georgetown (Guyana). [2]
Gum Air has flown various unique types of STOL Short Take Off & Landing aircraft from Suriname in the past such as Dornier DO 28D-1 Skyservant, GAF Nomad, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and also helicopter types such as Agusta-Bell 204B & Bell 206B Jet Ranger II.
In September 2021, Gum Air placed an order at Cessna for a new Cessna 408 SkyCourier to become the first operator in the Caribbean and Latin America for this new type of twin engine turboprop aircraft planned for delivery in 2023. Gum Air is currently constructing a new 3600-foot runway at its Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, and plans to utilize the SkyCourier for flights between Paramaribo, Georgetown, Port of Spain, and Cayenne. The new airport will mainly support the Oil & Gas, and Cargo sectors with charter flights. [3] [4]
Gum Air today owns a fleet of eight aircraft plus three helicopters, consisting of four types of aircraft varying from five to 19 seats. One Cessna SkyCourier is on order for delivery in 2023. [5]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | On Order | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna U206B/G Stationair 6/Super Skywagon | 2 | 1 pilot plus 5 passengers | ||
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan | 4 | 1-2 pilots plus 8-9 passengers | (Max 14 passengers with FAR Part 23 waiver) | |
| De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter | 2 [6] | 2 pilots plus 19 passengers | ||
| Cessna 408 SkyCourier | 1 [7] | 2 pilots plus Cargo (19 passengers) | ||
| Robinson R44 Raven I | 2 | 1-pilot plus 3 passengers | ||
| Bell 505 Jet Ranger X | 1 | 1-pilot plus 4 passengers | ||
| Total | 11 | 1 | ||
After the creation of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Army was entrusted with the defence of Suriname, while the defence of the Netherlands Antilles was the responsibility of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The army set up a separate Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname. Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into the Surinamese Armed Forces. On February 25, 1980, a group of 15 non-commissioned officers and one junior officer, under the leadership of sergeant major Dési Bouterse, staged a coup d'état and overthrew the Government. Subsequently, the SKM was rebranded as the National Army.
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The Suriname Air Force is the air component of the Military of Suriname. All aircraft of the Suriname Air Force undertake border patrols, utility transport, and search and rescue missions from Zorg en Hoop Airport, the Air Force's main base. Aircraft are occasionally transferred to other air bases in the nation, which include Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, Major Fernandes Airfield, Albina Airstrip, and Moengo Airstrip. The head of the Suriname Air Force is the Commander of the Air Force, currently Lieutenant Colonel Marven van Huisduinen, who took over the role in March 2019 from former Commander Robert Kartodikromo. The Air Force is further split into several wings, including the Helicopter Wing, the current Commander of which being Captain John-Marc Arron.
Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, is the first dedicated Heliport built in Suriname in 2015 at the Gummelsweg in the neighborhood of Kwatta near the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Privately owned and used by the Gummels family who also own the Gum Air airline and the crop dust service Surinam Sky Farmers. The heliport is mainly used for helicopter charters and primarily for offshore development activities. At the opening of the heliport in 2015 one hangar was built, but this was soon expanded by a second hangar at the heliport in 2017. By 2022 due to the expanding operations the addition of two more hangars was accomplished. With the increasing number of flights, reaching a peak of approximately 20 heli flights in a single day with 5 helicopters, limitations on the existing apron space were encountered at the heliport. During this period the idea of developing an airport from the small gravel crop dusters airstrip at Kwatta took root.
Ronald "Rudi" Elwin Kappel was a Surinamese pilot. He was one of the founders of Luchtvaartbedrijf Kappel-Van Eyck which is now called Surinam Airways, the first airline in Suriname. He also helped construct the Zorg en Hoop Airport, and the Rudi Kappel Airstrip. Kappel died in an air crash near Paloemeu.
