- Caregiving responsibilities strongly shape women’s air travel in Suriname. However, traditional air transport statistics are failing to capture such information.
- To close this gap, the IDB supported a survey to better map the air travel needs of women and used this information to help the country improve access to air transport services in remote Amazon regions.
Travel patterns and experiences differ significantly between women and men. Social roles and caregiving responsibilities shape how, why, and with whom individuals move, regardless of whether they travel by train, bus, car, on foot, or by plane. In contexts where air travel is essential, such as Suriname’s remote Amazon regions, these differences become particularly visible, especially for women traveling with children or dependents to access healthcare, education, and basic services.
To contribute to a safe and connected air transport sector in Suriname, the Inter-American Development Bank financed a project to improve rural air infrastructure while incorporating measures to enhance accessibility and inclusion. For this project, we conducted a survey of Suriname’s domestic air travel market with a sample size of 221 female and male users of inland airstrips of rural villages, with the aim of better understanding passengers’ experiences and travel motivations.
Main Survey Findings About Women’s Air Travel in Suriname
The study found that 40.7% of surveyed passengers were women, excluding those traveling primarily for mining-related activities.
It also showed clear differences in travel frequency and motivation. Men tend to travel more frequently and primarily for work, while women’s trips are more often linked to family and caregiving responsibilities.
Only 37.6% of women cited work as their main reason for traveling, compared with 66.4% of men. Women were also nearly twice as likely to travel to visit family and friends. These findings show how caregiving-related travel continues to shape mobility patterns and access to air transport, influencing service design, affordability, and connectivity in contexts where air travel is essential.
Women Are Less Likely to Travel Alone
Differences in travel patterns between men and women also emerge when examining whether travelers fly alone or with companions. Women are less likely to travel alone. Only 38.5% of female passengers do so, compared with 55.5% of men. Men predominantly travel alone when visiting family and friends (75%) and for tourism and leisure (75%), whereas women travel alone primarily for work (58.5%) and education (41.7%).
The survey also shows that 8.9% of female passengers accompany individuals with disabilities, compared with 4.6% of male passengers. In addition, women travel with a wider variety of companions — colleagues, children, friends, partners, and other family members.
Travel with children shows a marked gap between men and women
While 21.1% of women travel with children aged 0–16, only 1.4% of men do.
Disaggregated by age, 19.3% of women travel with children aged 0–10 and 1.8% with those aged 11–16. In contrast, only 1.5% of men travel with children aged 0–10, and none reported traveling with children aged 11–16. Additionally, 15.6% of women travel with family members other than a partner or spouse, compared with 4.4% of men.
Combined with the motivations for travel, these patterns illustrate that the responsibilities associated with the mobility of care fall primarily on women.
Integrating the Mobility of Care into Air Transport in Suriname
Traditionally, transport systems have been planned with a primary focus on speed, capacity, and cost efficiency. Our study shows that this approach is insufficient to meet women´s air travel needs. These needs are often more complex, as women are more likely to travel with young children and other dependents, reflecting the caregiving responsibilities they disproportionally carry.
As a result, the IDB’s Support to the Air Transport Sector in Suriname project included specific infrastructure and services to meet the needs of this segment of the population in the country´s remote Amazon region.
Actions included installing child-friendly facilities at Zorg in Hoop Airport, such as diaper changing stations, appropriately sized toilets, and handwashing facilities in both men’s and women’s restrooms — alongside universal accessibility features. Lactation rooms were also added within airport terminals to further support caregivers.
To sum up, accessible facilities, child-friendly infrastructure, and data collection that captures caregiving-related travel into air transport projects are not add-ons; they are essential components of effective and inclusive infrastructure. The main lesson from Suriname is that embedding these principles from the outset is critical to building transport systems that support inclusive mobility and recognize caregiving needs.
If you are interested in learning more about how inclusion can transform air transport infrastructure, we invite you to explore the progress of the Support to the Air Transport Sector in Suriname project.