SIMPSON BAY, St. Maarten – The 2018 high tourist season which runs from December through April 2019 looks very promising, according to the Management Board of the Princess Juliana International Airport, SXM. Long-haul airline flight frequency in the first quarter of 2019 will be at 81% of what it was in 2017, culminating in March 2019 at 98% of 2017.
According to the Winter program for 2018/2019, the Air Transat airline has announced that it will be returning to SXM Airport starting December 22, 2018. Air Transat was named the World’s best leisure airline in 2018. The many Canadian vacationers will have the pleasure of rediscovering St. Maarten/St. Martin, while islanders will enjoy a weekly direct flight to Montreal, as well as a weekly direct flight to Toronto, Canada. The Air Transat flight can carry a capacity of 149 to 189 passengers. Bookings are available via your local travel agency or online at www.airtransat.com.
Moreover, the Divi Divi airlines will be available for travelers seeking flights to Curacao from December 10, 2018. The airline has the capacity for 189 passengers and will be available for booking on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
The Winter program for 2018/2019 also confirms Sunwing returning its operations in February 28, 2019 originating out of Montreal and Toronto, Canada for weekly flights on Thursdays.
The JetBlue flights to Fort Lauderdale has also caused a stir of interest, with flights originating out of Florida with daily flights starting on February 14, 2019, Valentine’s Day.
As is customary, the weekends will be the peak days in terms of scheduled aircraft movements and passengers. According to the Operations Management of the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), the peak hours for passenger volumes will be from 12:00pm through 5:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
During the month of August 2018, the airport saw an impressive influx of travelers with the arrival counts recorded at 35,623 and 37,706 departing passengers. The overall total passenger volume from January through September 2018 measures arrivals at 235,024 with departures at 268,344.
The Managing Board of SXM Airport is set to begin its migration process from the current pavilions in a week’s time frame. This will complete the Package One – Temporary Operations of the reconstruction project. The team is in full overdrive and determined to be ready for the increasing passenger traffic during the start of the high season.
