Princess Juliana International Airport

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Coordinates: 18°02′27″N 063°06′32″W / 18.04083, -63.10889

Princess Juliana International Airport

IATA: SXM – ICAO: TNCM
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V.
Location Sint Maarten (St. Martin)
Elevation AMSL 13 ft / 4 m
Website www.pjiae.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,349 7,000 Asphalt

Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean, after Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2005, the airport handled 1,663,226 passengers.[1] The airport serves as a hub for Windward Islands Airways and is the major gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, St. Barthélemy and St. Eustatius. It is named after Juliana of the Netherlands, who was crown princess when the airport opened. There is also an airport on the French side of the island near Marigot, called Grand Case Airport or L'Espérance Airport.

Contents

[edit] History

The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942. It was converted to a civilian airport in 1943. In 1964 the airport was remodeled and relocated, with a new terminal building and control tower. The facilities were upgraded in 1985 then in 2001.

[edit] Modernization

Because of increased passenger traffic and the expected growth of passenger traffic in the near future, Princess Juliana International Airport is being heavily modernized following a three-phased masterplan, commissioned in 1997.[2]

Phase I was a short-term program in order to upgrade existing facilities and improve the level of service at various points. This included widening, strengthening and renovating the runway, increasing the bearing capacity of the taxiways, construction of a new apron and an upgrade of the (old) terminal. Phase I was completed in 2001.[3]

Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft), terminal, capable of handling 2,5 million passenger per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area (RESA) of 150 metres (490 ft), including a 60 metres (200 ft) overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules. The new air traffic control tower and the radar station commenced operations on March 29, 2004, while the new terminal opened on November 10, 2006.[4]

If traffic develops as forecast, Phase III of the masterplan will be executed, consisting of an extension of the new terminal building and the construction of a full parallel taxiway system.[5]

However, the oil price increases since 2003 began impacting discretionary air travel worldwide by early 2008,[6] and the prospect of further price increases[7] threatens to reverse the recent expansion of tourist travel by jet which began with the 1980s oil glut.[8]

[edit] Runway and facilities

Video of airplane landing at Juliana International Airport, from here
Video of airplane landing at Juliana International Airport, from here

The airport is famous for its short runway — at only 2,180 metres (7,200 ft),[9] it is barely long enough for heavy jets to land. Therefore, incoming airplanes approaching the island on short final for Runway 09 have to fly extremely low, passing only 10-20 meters (30-60 ft.) over relaxing tourists on Maho Beach. Pictures of low flying aircraft were published in several news magazines worldwide in the early 2000 and looked so unreal that some were even disputed as fakes. The thrilling approaches and ease of access for shooting spectacular images made the airport one of the world favorites place among planespotters. To meet international and local regulations a 150 meter safety extension was required.

As of early 2007, KLM stopped its weekly Boeing 747 flight to Princess Juliana, (replaced by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11), leaving the Paris-Orly Airport based French carrier Corsairfly to be the only airline to operate the 747, at a frequency of once a week in low season (April through October) and twice a week in high season (November through March)[10].

Despite the difficulties in approach, there has been no records of major incidents at the airport.

[edit] Apron

The main apron measures 72.500 m² with another 5.000 m² on Eastern apron. For freight handling a dedicated apron of 7.000 m² is available.[9]

[edit] Terminal

The new 4 stories terminal building offers 27.000 m² floor space. Available facilities include 42 check-in desks, 8 transit-desks and 11 boarding-gates. For arriving passengers 10 immigration booths are available and 5 emigration booths for departures.[9]

[edit] Private aviation

To accommodate the growing international and local traffic of private aircraft Princess Juliana International Airport does have a Fixed Base Operators building, offering office space and private lounges with dedicated Customs.[9]

[edit] Tower

Since official opening of the new control-tower PJIA Air Traffic Controllers have two radar systems at their disposal with a range of 50 and 250 nautical miles. PJIA air traffic control manages 4.000 square NM of airspace round the airport. Besides providing approach, tower and ground control at PJIA, Juliana air traffic services also provides approach control for Wallblake Airport(Anguilla), L'Esperance Airport(Grand Case, French West Indies), Gustave Airport(St. Barths, French West Indies), F.D. Roosevelt Airport(St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles) and Y. Yrasquin Airport(Saba, Netherlands Antilles).[9]

[edit] Navigation

PJIA is equipped with VOR/DME and NDB. The airport's official opening hours are from 07:00 - 21:00 hrs.[9]

[edit] Gallery

Photos

A Piper PA-28 Cherokee light aircraft on short final for Runway 09.

The new Terminal building from the inside.

This sign warns people that standing too close to the airport fence on Maho Beach can be dangerous...

[edit] In Popular Culture

PJIA is the featured airport in the Microsoft Flight Simulator X free demo version.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Cargo airlines

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Traffic statistics
  2. ^ PJIAE Masterplan
  3. ^ Phase I
  4. ^ Phase II
  5. ^ Phase III
  6. ^ Adams, Marilyn. "Rising costs reshaping air travel across the USA". USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
  7. ^ Lesova, Polya (2008-05-06). "Goldman Sachs: Oil Prices May Hit $150-$200 a Barrel". Fox Business Network. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  8. ^ Whipple, Tom. "The Peak Oil Crisis: The Half-Life For Air Travel". www.inteldaily.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
  9. ^ a b c d e f PJIAE Company Profile (2007)
  10. ^ Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Airports > Sint Maarten-Juliana Airport profile

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Juliana_International_Airport"
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