Travelers who live anywhere other than another Caribbean island will arrive by air to Princess Juliana (PJIA) airport in Dutch St. Maarten. French St. Martin has L’Esperance Airport in Grand Case, but it is mainly used for commutes between islands.
St. Maarten/St. Martin Has Second Busiest Airport in East Caribbean
Princess Juliana airport can accommodate sizable aircraft since it was originally a WWII military base. In 1943, the site became civilian in nature and was named for Juliana of the Netherlands. Juliana was crown princess of the Netherlands at the time and had visited the island in 1944. Juliana later became queen and abdicated in 1980.
Today, PJIA is the second busiest airport in the east Caribbean, second only to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airport has undergone several phases of renovations and today offers restaurants, ATMs, and car-rental kiosks.
Princess Juliana Airport is easily access through cities like Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, Montreal, Toronto, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Sizable Number of Airlines Service St. Maarten/St. Martin
Unlike many Caribbean islands that can only be reached by puddle-jumpers, PJIA accommodates fairly large aircraft. Interestingly, some people enjoy standing on Maho Beach for an up-close view of the bottom of a jet-liner. In fact, photographs of these plane landings are sometimes suspect of being PhotoShopped, because of the huge contrast of human body to machine.
Here’s a sampling of the airlines that service St. Maarten/St. Martin:
Air Canada offers non-stop flights from Toronto and connecting flights from all major Canadian cities.
Air France has direct flights to Paris to St. Maarten/St. Martin.
American Airlines according to Frommer’s, offers the largest variety of flights into the area, offering daily non-stop flights from New York and Miami.
Continental has specials on Boeing 757s non-stop from Newark to St. Maarten for as low as $298 round trip.
Delta flies Boeing 737s and 757s direct from Atlanta to St. Maarten/St. Martin. Rates are not impressive.
Jet Blueoffers flights from New York to St. Maarten, which tend to be approximately 20% cheaper than most other carriers.
KLM has flights out of Amsterdam via Paris to Princess Juliana airport.
United Airlines introduced direct flights from Chicago to SXM in December 2009.
US Airways has reasonably priced direct flights from Charlotte, NC, to St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Many airlines offer package deals, which make air travel less expensive. In addition, itineraries with a Saturday stay tend to be cheaper than itineraries without Saturday stays.
For some basics on the island, read Preview St. Maarten/St. Martin - Bare Facts. Get ideas for places to stay on the island at Preview St. Maarten/St. Martin - Where to Stay. For some suggestions on how to spend less on this type of vacation go to Preview St. Maarten/St. Martin - Ways to Save $$.
Ann Silverthorn - Ann Silverthorn is a versatile writer and has been writing professionally since the mid-1990s. She earned a bachelors degree in English ...
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