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
###
Available for Insiders only: Download the SXM Airport Presentation of the 2024 Summer Schedule here>>>>
