Princess Juliana International Airport

Princess Juliana
International Airport
IATA: SXM – ICAO: TNCM
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V.
Location Saint Maarten (Saint Martin)
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 14 ft / 4 m
Coordinates 18°02′27″N 063°06′34″W / 18.04083°N 63.10944°W / 18.04083; -63.10944Coordinates: 18°02′27″N 063°06′34″W / 18.04083°N 63.10944°W / 18.04083; -63.10944
Website sxmairport.com
Map
SXM

Location in Sint Maarten

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) is the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, located on the Dutch side of the island in the country of Sint Maarten. In 2010, the airport handled 1,645,105 passengers and 60,870 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.

The airport is perhaps best known for very low-altitude flyover landing approaches due to one end of its runway being extremely close to the shore and Maho Beach.

History

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 29 March 2004, while the new terminal opened in late October 2006.[5] The terminal has 4 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]

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.

In July 2016, KLM announced to serve the airport with direct flights from Amsterdam instead by a triangle route via Curaçao from October 2016. Due to this change, the airport loses its last regular Boeing 747 service - which was a famous photo opportunity on the nearby beach - as KLM will use Airbus A330s for the changed schedule.[10]

Facilities

Warning sign between runway 10 and Maho Beach
Spectators at Maho Beach
Terminal interior

Runway

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 situational awareness, mitigate potential problems. 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, although ALM Flight 980 crashed 30 miles (48 km) from St. Croix on 2 May 1970, after several unsuccessful landing attempts at TNCM in bad weather.

Runway 10/28 was renumbered from 09/27 in late 2008.[1]

Apron

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]

Terminal

Designed to handle some 2.5 million passengers annually, the new four-story terminal building offers 30,500 square metres (328,000 sq ft) of floor space and is fully air-conditioned. Available facilities include 46 check-in desks, 10 transit desks and 13 boarding gates. There are 20 immigration booths for arriving passengers and five exit-control booths for departing passengers.[12] The building also features 40 shops and food & beverage units—some unique to St. Maarten—promoted under the retail theme 'So Much More'.

General aviation

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]

Tower

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]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Air France Airbus A340-300 flying over Maho Beach shortly before touch-down
Air Caraïbes Airbus A330-300 flying over Maho Beach shortly before touch-down
AirlinesDestinations
Air Antilles Express
operated by Winair 		Dominica–Melville Hall, Pointe-à-Pitre, San Juan
Air Canada Rouge Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Air Caraïbes Paris–Orly, Port-au-Prince
Seasonal: Pointe-à-Pitre
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Transat Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
American Airlines Charlotte, Miami, Philadelphia
Seasonal: New York–JFK
Caribbean Airlines Kingston–Norman Manley, Port of Spain
Copa Airlines Panama City
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, New York–JFK
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Fly All Ways Paramaribo
Insel Air Curaçao, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo–Las Américas
Insel Air Aruba Aruba, Santo Domingo–Las Américas
InterCaribbean Airways Tortola (begins 19 December 2016)[13]
JetBlue Airways Boston, New York–JFK
KLM Amsterdam1
LIAT Antigua, Barbados, Saint Croix, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia–Vigie, Saint Thomas, San Juan, Tortola
PAWA Dominicana Santo Domingo–Las Américas, Antigua
Seaborne Airlines San Juan
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sunwing Airlines Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Québec City
Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Seasonal: Stockholm–Arlanda
TUI Airlines Netherlands Amsterdam1
United Airlines Newark, Washington–Dulles
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare
WestJet Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
Winair Antigua, Dominica-Canefield, Nevis, Saba, San Juan, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Kitts, Sint Eustatius, Tortola and Guadeloupe.
XL Airways France Seasonal: Paris-Charles de Gaulle (begins 18 December 2016)[14]
Notes

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Amerijet International Miami, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo
PAWA Dominicana Santo Domingo–Las Americas

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Airnav.com on:Princess Juliana International Airport, visited 20 December 2011
  2. ↑ sxmairport.com: Annual Report 2010, visited 2 March 2016
  3. ↑ Company website with PJIAE Masterplan, visited 21 December 2011
  4. ↑ Masterplan Phase I: 1997–2001, visited 21 December 2011
  5. ↑ PJIAE Masterplan Phase II, visited 21 December 2011
  6. ↑ PJIAE Masterplan: Phase III, visited 21 December 2011
  7. ↑ Adams, Marilyn. "Rising costs reshaping air travel across the USA". USA Today. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  8. ↑ Lesova, Polya (6 May 2008). "Goldman Sachs: Oil Prices May Hit $150–$200 a Barrel". Fox Business Network. Retrieved 8 May 2008. Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Whipple, Tom. "The Peak Oil Crisis: The Half-Life For Air Travel". www.inteldaily.com. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  10. ↑ aerotelegraph.com - "Cult airport St. Maarten loses Boeing 747" (German) 5 July 2016
  11. 1 2 3 PJIA website: PJIAE Company Profile, 2007, visited 20 December 2011
  12. ↑ "Princess Juliana International Airport". Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  13. ↑ 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "interCaribbean proposing St. Maarten service from Dec 2016". Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  14. ↑ 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "XL Airways France adds St. Maarten service in W16". Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  15. ↑ Most Extreme Airports; The History Channel; 26 August 2010

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