KLM A330 stuck on Bonaire after engine problem, 747 freighter brings replacement

A KLM Airbus A330-200 has been stuck on Bonaire since 21 September. One of its two engines developed a problem.

The aircraft, registration PH-AOC, is about 21 years old. It reached Flamingo International Airport as flight KL765 from Amsterdam, with a stop at Aruba. Its return service had been due out roughly ninety minutes later. KLM cancelled it.

Help arrived on 2 October, when a KLM Cargo Boeing 747 freighter, registration PH-CKC, landed at around 17:30 local time. The engine must be replaced in full, and technicians are fitting the spare to the A330. KLM has not given a date for the aircraft's return to Amsterdam.

It is the second such disruption on Bonaire this year. In late March the carrier scrapped a flight from the island to Amsterdam after an A330 could not leave because of a technical defect, and flew in spare parts. KLM later said it would stop using Airbus A330s on its routes to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao from the start of the winter schedule. A330s still serve the three islands for now.