18
FLYING ON TRUSTED WINGS
First flight to Moengo. A Piper Cub arriving in Moengo. Rudi Kappel is welcomed on arrival.
wanted to continue with it. With that, the committee took
On the starting line
no time at all to arrive at a decision to disband. Two airlines
In the spring of 1953 – while preparations were fully
in Suriname would be one too many.
underway for the official creation of the Kappel-Van Eyck Aviation Company (Luchtvaartbedrijf Kappel-Van Eyck)
When, on 1 October 1952, Kappel was granted the per-
– Jägers at last accepted the concession. But it was too
Herman van Eyck (second from left) and Rudi Kappel (third from left) in front of the aircraft. (Peter Sanches collection)
mission he so desired – to transport paying passengers –
late for him now. His delay in meeting the conditions he
the last impediment to realising his goal of creating a
had been offered was not appreciated, and anyway there
fully-fledged airline had been removed. The intention to
was now a very satisfactory alternative: the Surinamese
create a national airline (SLM) at some point in the future
government was convinced that the Kappel-Van Eyck
still remained. The idea was that Kappel and Van Eyck’s
Aviation Company would be perfectly up to the task. Jägers
Postcard with a special postage stamp commemorating the first flight to Moengo. (Willy van Leesten collection)
company would be absorbed into the new national airline,
decided to cut his losses and he accepted Kappel and Van
the two men would take up positions within it, and their
Eyck’s offer to compensate him for his costs up to that
aeroplanes would come along with them.
point.
On 30 March 1953, the States of Suriname and the
The Dutch aviation world responded fiercely to events in
government, represented by Mr Smit, the Minister of Public
Suriname. Hostile articles appeared in Avia Vliegwereld
Works and Transport, openly expressed their support for
magazine, the official organ of the Royal Netherlands
the plans put forward by Kappel and Van Eyck. Much had
Aeronautical Association (RNAA), and Surinamese
changed in the preceding two years. A month later, Smit
newspapers responded in kind. The Dutch magazine was
established the Commission for Domestic Air Travel to
disparaging in its assessment of Kappel’s experience,
prepare the way for the setting up of an airline for domestic
and claimed that the more experienced Jägers had been
flights. The Commission was to issue its recommendations
sidelined and treated with contempt. ‘It could perhaps
in September in the form of four options. The government
be justifiably claimed that Jägers was too cautious in his
chose coastal transport by a single-engine plane, eastwards
approach and could better have kept going at a certain
on the Paramaribo-Moengo-Albina route and westwards on
point, accepting certain risks, but we are of the opinion
the Paramaribo-Coronie-Nickerie route. A helicopter would
that ultimately Suriname would have been better served
be used for transport to and from inland areas and any
by a tried and tested method rather than a “let’s just have
additional transport needs.
a go and see what happens” approach.’ In their turn, the Surinamese side accused the Dutch critics of only having
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