| Princess Juliana International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Corsairfly Airbus A330-200 on short final over Maho Beach | |||
| IATA: SXM – ICAO: TNCM | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V. | ||
| Location | Sint Maarten (St. Martin) | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 14 ft / 4 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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TNCM
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 10/28 | 2,300 | 7,546 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Source: airnav.com[1] | |||
Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) (also known as Saint Maarten International Airport) serves the Dutch part of the island of Sint Maarten. In 2007, the airport handled 1,647,824 passengers and 103,650 aircraft movements.[2] The airport serves as a hub for Windward Islands Airways and is the major gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, St. Barthélemy and St. Eustatius. It is named after Juliana of the Netherlands, who as crown princess landed here in 1944, the year after the airport opened. There is also an airport on the French side of the island, called Aéroport de Grand Case or L'Espérance Airport.
Minister of Justice, Roland Duncan and Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger are undertaking plans to create a hub for Anguilla and St. Barths by placing both Anguillan and French official immigration officers in order to facilitate travel to these areas.
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The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942. It was converted to a civilian airport in 1943. In 1964 the airport was remodeled and relocated, with a new terminal building and control tower. The facilities were upgraded in 1985 and 2001.
Because of increased passenger traffic and the expected growth of passenger traffic in the near future, Princess Juliana International Airport is being heavily modernized following a three-phased masterplan, commissioned in 1997.[3]
Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points. This included widening, strengthening and renovating the runway, increasing the bearing capacity of the taxiways, construction of a new apron and an upgrade of the (old) terminal. Phase I was completed in 2001.[4]
Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft), terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area (RESA) of 150 metres (490 ft), including a 60 metres (200 ft) overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules. The new air traffic control tower and the radar station commenced operations on March 29, 2004, while the new terminal opened in late October 2006.[5] The terminal has 4–5 jetways for large aircraft like 747s.
If traffic develops as forecast, Phase III of the masterplan will be executed, consisting of an extension of the new terminal building and the construction of a full parallel taxiway system.[6] The new terminal building will also have more jetways and services etc.
However, the oil price increases since 2003 began impacting discretionary air travel worldwide by early 2008,[7] and the prospect of further price increases[8] threatens to reverse the recent expansion of tourist travel by jet which began with the 1980s oil glut.[9]
Because the approach to Runway 10 is over water, pilots can become disoriented regarding their perceived altitude when operating under visual flight rules. Normal instrument checks, coupled with experience and awareness, mitigate any potential problems. In fact, the departure from Runway 10 presents more "difficulties" than the approach, with a turn required to avoid mountains in the departure path.
Arriving aircraft approach the island on the last section of the final approach for Runway 10, following a 3° glide slope flying low over the famous Maho Beach. Pictures of low flying aircraft were published in several news magazines worldwide in early 2000. The thrilling approaches and ease of access for shooting spectacular images, made the airport one of the world's favorite places among planespotters. To meet changing international and local regulations a 150-metre (490 ft) safety extension was required.
Despite the reputed difficulties in approach, there have been no records of major incidents at the airport, though ALM Flight 980 crashed 30 miles (48 km) from St. Croix on 2 May 1970, after several unsuccessful landing attempts at PJIA.
In late 2008, Runway 09/27 was renumbered as 10/28.[1]
The main apron measures 72,500 square metres (780,000 sq ft) with another 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) on Eastern apron. For freight handling a dedicated apron of 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) is available.[11]
The new four-story terminal building offers 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft) of floor space and is fully air-conditioned. Available facilities include 42 check-in desks, eight transit desks and eleven boarding gates. There are ten immigration booths for arriving passengers and five exit-control booths for departing passengers.[11] The building also features 40 shops and food & beverage units—some unique to St. Maarten—promoted under the retail theme 'So Much More'.
To accommodate the growing international and local traffic of private aircraft, PJIA has a Fixed Base Operator building, offering office space and private lounges with dedicated customs.[11]
Since official opening of the new control tower, PJIA air traffic controllers have two radar systems at their disposal with ranges of 50 nautical miles (93 km) and 250 nautical miles (460 km). PJIA controllers manage 4,000 square NM of airspace around the airport. Besides providing approach, tower and ground control at PJIA, these controllers also provide approach control for Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (Anguilla), L'Espérance Airport (French Saint Martin), Gustaf III Airport (St. Barths), F.D. Roosevelt Airport (St. Eustatius) and Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (Saba).
PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB. The airport's official operating hours are 07:00–21:00.[11]
In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights". After some delay, the treaty was ratified in November 2006 in the Netherlands, and subsequently entered into force on 1 August 2007. Though the treaty is now in force, its provisions are not yet implemented as the working group specified in the treaty is not yet installed.
Princess Juliana International Airport is the airport featured in the free demo version of Microsoft Flight Simulator X. In the full version of the program, it is the destination on the mission called "Caribbean Landing".
In 2010, the airport finished second[12] and in 2011 finished tenth[13] in PrivateFly.com's survey to find the world's best airport approaches.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Canada | Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson |
| Air Caraïbes | Paris-Orly, Port-au-Prince Seasonal: Pointe-à-Pitre |
| Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pointe-à-Pitre |
| Air Transat | Seasonal: Montreal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson |
| American Airlines | Miami, New York-JFK |
| BVI Airways | Dominica, Tortola |
| CanJet | Toronto-Pearson Seasonal: Montreal-Trudeau |
| Caribbean Airlines | Kingston-Norman Manley, Port of Spain |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City |
| Corsairfly | Paris-Orly, Pointe-à-Pitre |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta |
| Dutch Antilles Express | Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Santo Domingo-Las Américas |
| Insel Air | Curaçao, Port-au-Prince, Miami, San Juan, Santo Domingo-Las Américas |
| JetBlue Airways | Boston, New York-JFK, San Juan |
| KLM | Amsterdam, Curaçao |
| LIAT | Antigua, Saint Croix, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Tortola |
| St Barth Commuter | Saint Barthélemy |
| Spirit Airlines | Fort Lauderdale |
| Take Air | Dominica |
| Sun Country Airlines | Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul |
| Sunwing Airlines | Seasonal: Montreal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson |
| United Airlines | Newark, Washington-Dulles Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare |
| US Airways | Charlotte, Philadelphia |
| WestJet | Toronto-Pearson |
| Winair | Nevis, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius |
| Winair operated by Anguilla Air Services | Anguilla |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Pullmantur | Seasonal: Madrid |
| Alitalia | Milan-Malpensa |
| Anguilla Air Services | Anguilla |
| FlyMontserrat | Montserrat |
| Gol Transportes Aéreos | Manaus, São Paulo-Guarulhos |
| St Barth Commuter | Saint Barthélemy |
| Surinam Airways | Seasonal: Paramaribo-Zanderij |
| Trans Anguilla Airways | Anguilla |
| Aeroluftjoz UK | East Midlands Nottingham |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Amerijet International | Miami, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo-Las Américas |
| FedEx Feeder operated by Mountain Air Cargo | San Juan |
| Four Star Air Cargo | San Juan |
| LIAT Quikpak | Santo Domingo-Las Américas |
| Roblex Aviation | San Juan |
| Skyway Enterprises | San Juan |