Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM/TNCM), one of the world’s best-known airports along with the famous Maho Beach, was the latest addition to our YouTube channel with a 24-hour live stream showing all the action at the main airport on the island of Saint Martin, including landings and takeoffs.

Its history

The beginnings of aviation on the island can be traced back to the early 1940s, when the United States Air Force established a military base there during World War II. Its first commercial flight landed on December 3rd, 1943, but the official opening took place on March 4th, 1944, when Princess Juliana of Orange of the Netherlands landed at the airport and opened the airbase as a civilian airport, with a 650-meter runway and a small terminal.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was the first airline to operate in Sint Maarten, but it wasn’t until 1961 that a local airline was founded: Winair, which continues operating with a fleet of ATR 42 and Twin Otter aircraft.

Windward Islands Airways International NV

Winair is an airline based at Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten, established by Georges Greaux and Hippolyte Ledee on August 24th, 1961. It began operations on July 5th, 1962, flying mainly between Sint Maarten and Saba, the airport with the shortest commercial runway in the world, using STOL-capable Dornier Do 28 aircraft.

In 1967, Windward Islands Airways International NV, or simply Winair, introduced its first De Havilland Canada Dash 6-300 Twin Otter aircraft, a type that is still in operation for the airline, but the current ones were incorporated quite later, mainly between 2012 and 2023. However, their average age is 47 years, with the “newest” being 40 years old and the oldest almost 57 years old.

ATR and Twin Otter

Twin Otters are used for shorter routes, with Sint Maarten-Saba being one of the predominant services conducted. It is one of the shortest flights offered from Princess Juliana International Airport, covering around 50 kilometers in a 15-minute flight. These aircraft are equipped to operate on short runways, requiring only a few meters to land and/or take off.

In addition, the airline has four ATR 42-500s in its fleet, which are on average 15 years old. These 48-seat single-class aircraft operate Winair’s longest services to other Caribbean islands such as Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica, and Saint Lucia. Effective February 1st, the company will launch its first route to Trinidad and Tobago, flying from Sint Maarten to Port of Spain with ATR 42s, two times a week.

Welcome, Boeing 747

Starting in the 1990s, the airport began to regularly receive Boeing 747s, a historic milestone for the island. Air France, Corsair, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, either with non-stop flights or as part of a triangular route with other Caribbean islands, commenced operations with the Queen of the Skies, including Boeing 747-100, Boeing 747-200, and Boeing 747-300 aircraft, and later with Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

KLM and Corsair, with flights to/from Amsterdam and Paris, respectively, were the main operators of the Boeing 747 in Sint Maarten, offering flights for about two decades. The main one was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which made its last scheduled flight on October 28th, 2016, operated by Boeing 747-406 with registration PH-BFN. The end of an era.

Originally, October 28th, 2016, would have gone into history as the last flight of a KLM Boeing 747 to Sint Maarten, and possibly of any passenger airline, to Princess Juliana International Airport, but Hurricane Irma’s impact prompted some special operations to the island, including a Boeing 747 flight.

On September 28th, 2017, 20 days after the hurricane struck, KLM operated a special flight to Sint Maarten with the Boeing 747-406(M) registered PH-BFT, carrying cargo and supplies to the island. This flight took place 20 days later because the airport had suffered significant damage to the terminal and runway.

The airport reopened on October 10th, 2017, with temporary facilities, as reconstruction work continued in certain areas affected by the hurricane.

Air France and Corsair

As well as KLM and Corsair, Air France conducted for around 10 years between Paris and Sint Maarten with Boeing 747s, including the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, and 747-400 versions, later replacing them with Airbus A330s, which still serve this route.

Corsair operated its own Boeing 747s, both with its official livery and that of Corsairfly, which it began using after its acquisition by the German tourism group TUI AG in the early 2000s. They were the same aircraft, just with new livery. Its last flights with Boeing 747s date back to 2012.

During part of 2005, European Aircharter, a British airline founded in 1989, performed some flights for Corsair on the Paris-Sint Maarten route and vice versa, due to issues with its Boeing 747s. The British carrier had seven Boeing 747s in its fleet, all of them Boeing 747-200s, flying between 2003 and 2006. It ceased operations on November 30th, 2008.

According to our database, in addition to Amsterdam and Paris, its current connections with Europe, Sint Maarten has significant connectivity with the Caribbean, as well as routes to Canada, the United States, and hubs such as Santo Domingo and Panama City, enabling connectivity with South America, through Arajet and Copa, respectively.

Routes

*KLM operates the triangular route Amsterdam – Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) – Sint Maarten – Amsterdam with Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

Princess Juliana Airport, located 15 kilometers from Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten, has a 2,300-meter runway, approximately 7,500 feet, with thresholds 10 and 28. The runway is made of concrete, which supports landings and takeoffs of almost all types of aircraft.

The new terminal, inaugurated in 2006, marked a major expansion for the airport. It has four boarding bridges and a total of 13 gates, distributed for all daily operations. Near runway 10, there are several parking positions for private aircraft, as well as for small aircraft operating regular and/or non-regular routes between Caribbean islands.

Saint Martin

The island covers 87 square kilometers and is divided between two countries, with the northern part being a French Collectivity known as Saint-Martin, while the southern part is occupied by Sint Maarten, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Saint-Martin, covering an area of approximately 53 square kilometers, has its own airport, but with a smaller runway and terminal than Sint Maarten. Passenger flights are operated by small aircraft, mainly ATR 72 and Cessna Grand Caravan.

Pointe-à-Pitre and Saint Barthélemy are its only destinations, served by Air Caraïbes with ATR aircraft and St Barth Commuter with Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, respectively. Between the two routes, Saint-Martin Airport handles around 55 flights per week, in addition to private and general aviation operations.

Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten and Grand-Case Espérance Airport in Saint-Martin are separated by about 10 kilometers.

Cover photo: © FoxbatOne – JetPhotos (Sint Maarten Princess Juliana International Airport)