~ Final Wrap-Up on WestJet Emergency Landing at SXM Airport ~ Incident Summary and Runway Reopening PHILIPSBURG, SINT MAARTEN — A WestJet Boeing 737-800 (flight WS2276 from Toronto) suffered a hard landing at St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) on Sunday, September 7, when its right main landing gear collapsed upon touchdown. The aircraft skidded down the runway on its right engine and wing, throwing up sparks and smoke and forcing an immediate airport shutdown. Airport firefighters were alerted at once – “Send fire and rescue,” the cockpit radioed – and rescue crews arrived within about two minutes, swiftly…
Author: The Publisher
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – September 7, 2025 – This afternoon, a WestJet Boeing 737-800 arriving from Toronto encountered a serious landing incident at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). At approximately 1:30 PM local time, the aircraft made a hard landing on Runway 10 during its final approach. Video footage from the Maho Beach Cam shows the jet touching down heavily on its right landing gear, which subsequently collapsed. The aircraft skidded along the runway, with its right engine scraping the pavement and producing smoke before coming to a full stop. Emergency Response Emergency services at SXM responded within moments of…
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — [September 4, 2025] — Today marks an exciting milestone for St. Maarten’s digital economy with the official launch of AnyKey.sx, a locally based tech company offering fully automated .SX domain registration and comprehensive web hosting services. Likened to the “GoDaddy of Sint Maarten,” AnyKey.sx aims to enhance the island’s online visibility and accelerate the growth of e-commerce and digital businesses across the Caribbean. “Any idea, any vision, AnyKey.” Founded with a clear mission to make .SX domain names — the digital identity exclusive to Sint Maarten — both accessible and meaningful, AnyKey.sx provides a user-friendly website and…
PHILIPSBURG — A decision by the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company (PJIAE) to discontinue issuing airport access cards to French St. Martin–born nationals without valid legal working status has triggered a political storm, exposing deep divisions within government and sparking criticism from opposition and coalition members alike. The policy shift, announced in a September 1st letter from PJIAE CEO Michael Cleaver, follows consultations with the Ministry of Labor (VSA). The letter informs stakeholders that, effective immediately, only individuals with a valid work permit and legal status will be eligible for security access cards at SXM Airport. While PJIAE stressed…
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — August 29, 2025 — Prominent local attorney Cor Merx has published a substantive essay introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the island’s legal community, arguing that AI should be treated as a practical assistant—used thoughtfully and ethically—rather than a threat to legal craftsmanship. The article, titled “AI voor Juristen op Sint Maarten – een kennismaking met kansen”, appears on the Orde van Advocaten Sint Maarten website and is dated March 5, 2025. Merx—founder of Cor Merx Legal Services and a longtime figure in St. Maarten’s legal affairs—is also listed among practitioners by the Orde van Advocaten Sint…
Dear Editor, The growing public pressure on NV GEBE to lower electricity prices has become a political flashpoint, drawing in even the Prime Minister. While residents’ concerns over high utility bills may be valid, the public discourse must expand beyond energy costs to address the deeper, systemic issues driving financial hardship across the island. Focusing solely on electricity prices is not only shortsighted—it is a distraction from the broader structural deficiencies that weigh on households every day. Real relief cannot be achieved through political pressure on the utility company. What is needed is a comprehensive, long-term approach to cost-of-living challenges.…
PHILIPSBURG — For entrepreneurs across the world, building an online business has never been easier. Platforms like PayPal, Stripe, Revolut, Wise, and N26 give businesses instant access to international payment processing, e-banking, and digital financial services. But on St. Maarten, a troubling reality remains: local entrepreneurs are locked out of this global ecosystem. Because of St. Maarten’s ongoing financial blacklisting status, local businesses cannot register with many of the world’s leading payment gateways or fintech platforms. For many entrepreneurs, this is more than a minor inconvenience — it is a barrier that stifles innovation, growth, and international competitiveness. Trapped in…
PHILIPSBURG – The Sint Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) has sounded the alarm over what it calls an existential threat to the island’s national telecom provider, TELEM, following the government’s recent approval of a five-year license for Starlink SXM B.V. Click here to read press release SMCU>>> The concession, signed off by the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) on May 6, 2025, gives the foreign-owned satellite operator sweeping rights to provide broadband services across land, sea, and airspace. SMCU President Nataly Frans warns that while consumers may welcome better connectivity, the decision risks undermining TELEM’s already fragile…
PHILIPSBURG — Climate change. Again? Yes sir, because St. Maarten is, like many small island states, in the line of fire when rising sea levels become a reality. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Handling this challenge requires something that is alien to most of our politicians: long term thinking. The good thing is that we are not alone and that we do not have to re-invent the wheel because others have understood that something needs to be done and that it needs to be done now. St. Maarten is in a rather unique…
By Tom Clifford in Beijing There are taboo subjects in China.The three Ts…Taiwan, Tibet and Tiananmen. Then the three Es…employment, environment and economy. All can be mentioned but within very strict limits. The first three with extreme caution, the second group only in the context of improvement. I came to China in 2010 and I am leaving in September. After a week in China, as the saying goes, one is an expert; after 15 years one realizes how little one knows. But after my stint here I can confidently say there is less optimism than in 2010. China has known…
