Tortug' Air
| |||||||
| Founded | 2003 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2015 | ||||||
| Hubs | Toussaint Louverture International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 3 | ||||||
| Destinations | 8 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | ||||||
| Key people | Olivier Jean (President) | ||||||
| Website | TortugAir.com | ||||||
Tortug'Air S.A. was a domestic airline in Haiti, and served as Haiti's national flag carrier.[1] The airline was founded in March 2003, and was based in Port-au-Prince.[2] According to the airline, more than 200 people were employed with the company. Tortug' Air went out of business sometime between mid-March to August, 2015.
Tortug’Air was part of Haiti's transportation infrastructure. Despite the country's small size, the road network is in poor condition.[3] Thus, air transportation takes on an oversized importance for Haiti. Tortug’ Air served that need with its domestic schedule. For example, its 40 minute flight from Port-au-Prince to Jacmel could have been driven instead; but it would take approximately four hours by road.[4]
History
Tortug'Air S.A. was founded in January 2003, and launched its commercial flights on 13 August 2004.[5]
In January 2013, Tortug'Air officially applied for permission to fly in the USA. Haiti being a Category 2 of the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA) , its airlines were not permitted to fly US skies, but a wet lease with a Category 1 operator (South African carrier CemAir) made the request feasible.[5] Tortug'Air first US flights to Fort Lauderdale International Airport started in June 2014.[6]
Destinations
Tortug’ Air served six Haitian and three international destinations. It also had charter permits for most Caribbean islands. Flights to Les Cayes were suspended in early 2012.[4]
| Country (State/Provence/Island) | City | Airport | Date started | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haiti | Port-au-Prince | Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport | ||
| Haiti | Jacmel | Jacmel Airport | ||
| Haiti | Jérémie | Jérémie Airport | ||
| Haiti | Cap-Haïtien | Cap-Haitien International Airport | ||
| Haiti | Port-de-Paix | Port-de-Paix Airport | ||
| Dominican Republic (Distrito Nacional) | Santo Domingo | La Isabela International Airport | ||
| Bahamas (New Providence) | Nassau | Lynden Pindling International Airport | ||
| Turks and Caicos (Providenciales) | — | Providenciales International Airport | ||
| United States | Broward County, Florida | Fort Lauderdale International Airport | June 2014 | [6] |
Fleet
| Aircraft | In Service | On Order | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetStream 31 | 2 | — | 19 | [7] |
| Let L-410 Turbolet | 1 | — | 17 | [7] |
| Total | 3 | — | ||
See also
References
- ^ "Tortug' Air: Haiti's National Flag Carrier". Haiti Observer. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to Tortug'Air". fdmsecure.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
- ^ "Foreign & Commonwealth Office - GOV.UK". Retrieved 2016-06-05.
- ^ a b "An adventure for the fun-loving, not the foolhardy". www.miami.com. The Miami Herald. November 6, 2005. Archived from the original on November 25, 2005. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
- ^ a b Maslen, Richard (2013-01-04). "Tortug'Air Applies for US Route Approval". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ a b Nadalet, Ivan (2014-06-03). "Haiti's Tortug'air to start Cap Haitien - Fort Lauderdale flights". Ch-aviation. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ a b "Tortug Air - Our Fleet". www.tortugair.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-05.