Suriname’s civil aviation sector is facing a potentially catastrophic air traffic control crisis that puts flight safety and continuous national airspace operations at grave risk. In recent weeks, all core communication systems for the country’s air traffic management infrastructure have completely failed, leaving controllers with only extremely limited backup alternatives to coordinate flights.
In response to this emergency, frontline air traffic controllers have resorted to using their personal mobile phones to communicate with neighboring aviation authorities and coordinate air traffic movements, as well as to liaise with other relevant domestic departments and agencies. This ad-hoc workaround has placed enormous additional pressure and responsibility on already stretched teams, laying bare the extreme understaffing and systemic vulnerability that plagues the nation’s air traffic control sector today.
On Thursday, the Suriname Air Traffic Controllers Association (Satca) issued a forceful public pushback against recent statements from Raymond Landveld, Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism (TCT), regarding the state of the country’s air traffic control system. Satca officials argue that much of the information shared by the minister does not align with the day-to-day reality faced by working controllers. The association says the vast majority of government commitments to address sector issues remain unfulfilled promises on paper, with implementation falling drastically behind schedule, pushing the already strained situation into increasing untenability.
Satca has outlined a litany of long-standing unaddressed issues that have pushed the sector to the breaking point. The association notes that the TCT Ministry has not released any relevant updates on planned reforms since February 2026, bringing consultation and progress on key changes to a complete standstill. While overtime payments have been deposited into controllers’ personal bank accounts, no formal, written regulatory framework for these payments has ever been established. Promised government-issued mobile phones, intended to serve as a dedicated communication backup during system outages, have still not been delivered, despite repeated power outages that repeatedly take the central air traffic control system offline.
Additionally, the promised increase in training incentives for trainee air traffic controllers only exists on paper, Satca says. Two aspiring controllers have already dropped out of the national training program due to poor working and training conditions. Even after nearly two years of training, the candidates have not received formal job offers or access to health insurance coverage. The mandatory on-the-job training period, which requires a minimum of three months of hands-on experience, has also been delayed, and trainees remain locked in uncertainty over whether they will receive back pay for the hours they have already worked.
Mandatory medical certifications for active controllers are also running as much as seven months behind schedule, leading to the expiration of operating licenses for multiple experienced controllers. This situation directly violates both international and national aviation safety regulations, meaning the affected controllers are formally prohibited from working, further worsening the sector’s staffing crisis.
Remarkably, air traffic control operations have remained continuously operational so far, with only a limited number of flight delays recorded. Satca credits this to the extraordinary voluntary overtime work put in by its members to keep the system running despite unsafe conditions.
The recurring power outages that trigger the communication system failures also disable essential aviation equipment, complicating communication between controllers, pilots, and neighboring aviation authorities. The outages leave controllers relying on jerry-rigged workarounds at their workstations to manage daily air traffic.
Minister Landveld has acknowledged the existence of the sector’s problems, but noted that, to date, no formal damage claims have been filed by airlines that have been forced to divert to airports in neighboring countries due to the air traffic controller shortage. He did admit that the crisis has already created additional operational costs for carriers, and that formal claims could be submitted in the future, while pointing to existing structural failures as the root of the issue.
The minister said his ministry is working to correct long-standing structural errors inherited from previous administrations, and has already taken initial steps to address key problems, including processing overtime payments, scheduling delayed medical examinations, and initiating orders for the promised backup mobile phones. He also clarified that salary adjustments cannot be implemented unilaterally by his ministry, and that the issue falls under the purview of the national negotiating body, where discussions with air traffic controller representatives are still ongoing.
Landveld projected that newly trained air traffic controllers will be able to enter active service around September or October 2026 to ease the severe staffing shortage, but admitted that safety incidents and operational disruptions are likely to continue between now and then. Currently, Suriname only has 25 active certified air traffic controllers, while full, safe operations require a staff of 80 to meet global aviation standards.
Satca is calling for transparent, honest and full communication between all stakeholders to rebuild trust between the government, frontline aviation staff and the Surinamese public. The union is demanding that the ministry follow through on all previously agreed commitments, and align all future public communications with the actual on-the-ground conditions facing the nation’s air traffic controllers.