Airport beats expectations with higher number of passengers
PHILIPSBURG -- Airlines operating at Princess Juliana International Airport have added 1,596 seats to their carrying capacity during the period that ends on October 31. This appears from a presentation SXM Airport Director Brian Mingo gave about the airport’s new Summer Schedule at the company's launching event held on Friday evening, May 31, 2024, in the presence of many aviation and tourism stateholders and invited guests, among which were Minister of Justice Lyndon Lewis, Director of the Tourism Office May-Ling Chun, and the French side Commissioner of Tourism, Valerie Damaseau.
Eight airlines - Caribbean Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta, Frontier, Silver Airways, Spirit and Winair all added to their capacity for a total of 1,942 seats. However, due to discontinued or diminished services from Air Antilles, Liat and Sky High Airlines there is a loss of 346 seats, resulting in a net uptick of the earlier mentioned 1,596 additional seats.
Mingo showed that most passenger traffic to his airport stems from the United States and Canada (57.8 percent), followed by the Caribbean (27.7 percent), Europe (12.4 percent) and Latin America (2 percent).
A survey by the Bureau for Statistics (STAT) in 2023 among 9,042 departing passengers showed that these visitors spent on average $149 per person per day and that the average length of stay was seven days. Of passengers arriving in St. Maarten, 30 percent transits to other destinations; 90 percent of the arrivals are visitors and non-locals.
The first quarter of the year beats expectations by 18 percent with 414,000 arrivals versus 349,000 during the same period in 2023.
Mingo estimates the economic value of these passengers at between $250 and $270 million.
The Winter 2024 (W24) event will be in September and in November there will be official opening of the newly completed SXM Airport terminal building. Mingo tipped the attending guests of Friday's Summer Schedule event that the opening will be conducted by a visiting member of the royal family.
###
Publisher's Note: A copy of the Summer Schedule 2024 is available for download below for subscribers with an Insider subscription. You can actually buy a subscription with us online. Click here for more information about subscribing with us>>>
###
ADVERTISEMENT
###
LOGIN TO READ MORE... THIS IS A PREMIUM ARTICLE. YOU NEED AT LEAST YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION TO ACCESS THIS ARTICLE.
...
Some articles or portions of articles are restricted exclusively for our registered members and paying subscribers. Please login here to read the rest of this article. If you do not already have a paid subscription, you will need to register here and pay for a subscription first in order to gain access to our website to read articles or contents that are restricted to paid subscribers. You need to buy at least a Day subscription for 75ct to gain access. Or log in first if you are already a registered paying subscriber to this website. Click here to register and support our work with a paid subscription.
