SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - At the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) Summer Mixer at Oyster Bay Beach Resort, in Oyster Bay, St. Maarten, regional hub Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) and local carrier Winair informed members of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) with details of the strongly expanding airlift to the island this winter.
The presentation was an initiative of the SHTA, the island’s largest independent business network and PJIA as national airport, to timely and strategically familiarize local businesses with opportunities ahead. Next to a wholly new connection with the important Minneapolis / St. Paul feeder area as one of the 20 largest airports of the United States, additional flights to the Caribbean Island will also be provided from Montreal, Toronto, JFK, Curacao and Amsterdam. Air France even announced to double its flights to St. Maarten to 14 per week.
Winair in turn announced new connections with Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent. Its connection with Martinique will go up with one flight per week. Its special day trips program to St. Barths, Saba and Statia is extended to the end of the year.
The vast expansion of airlift as of this winter is not just great news for the binational island of St. Maarten / St. Martin but it is also an opportunity for surrounding islands for whom hub SXM plays a pivotal role for regional and intercontinental travel. The same counts for many other islands in the region using the international connections of Princess Juliana as a gateway.
“Whereas between April and October of 2023, PJIA handled 350,000 departing passengers, the airport is well underway of exceeding 400,000 departing passengers this year during the same period. Adding additional flights to Minneapolis, Montreal, Toronto, various Caribbean destinations through our partner Winair, as well as increased frequencies to Amsterdam, Paris will ensure a record-breaking winter season 2024-2025” stated Michiel Parent of Princess Juliana International airport.
The new airlift opportunities presented were well received by SHTA members from amongst others the island’s hotel, aviation, retail, activity, restaurant, medical, media, export and other business sectors. All SHTA business divisions present welcomed the increased airlift as incentive for growth to the St. Maarten economy, resulting in destination growth and new business opportunities.
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