Flying to Saint Martin

General Information

The island has two airports: a very small one on the French side at Grand Case (Grand Case Espérance Airport), which only offers a few flights to/from Anguilla, St. Barths, or Guadeloupe, and Princess Juliana, the international airport on the Dutch side. Most visitors arrive via the latter. With nearly two million passengers per year, Princess Juliana is among the top 10 busiest airports in the Caribbean and also serves as a good transit hub for accessing various islands in the region from Europe or, secondarily, North America.

Types of Flights

Local Airlines

Saint Martin has two airlines bearing its colors, both based on the Dutch side.

• Winair: A well-known Caribbean airline serving around ten islands in the region directly from Sint Maarten.

• Windward Express: The other local airline, offering only charter or on-demand flights.

Charters, Scheduled, and Low-Cost Flights

Promotions and Special Offers

From France and Europe

Apart from a few rare European charters, only Amsterdam (with KLM) and Paris (Air Caraïbes from Orly and Air France from Roissy) have direct flights to the island. From Paris, expect around 9 hours of flight time for 500 € to 950 € round trip. Note that direct flights are not necessarily much more expensive than those with connections, particularly via Guadeloupe or through the USA (which also require an ESTA even in transit).

From North America

Given the strong U.S. presence in the economy and tourism on the Dutch side, it’s no surprise there are many direct regular or seasonal flights between the two destinations.

• Atlanta: Delta

• Boston: JetBlue

• Charlotte: American

• Chicago: United

• Florida: American (Miami), Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale)

• Philadelphia: American

• New York: American (seasonal), Delta, JetBlue, United

• Washington: United

As for Canada, Toronto (Air Canada Rouge, Air Transat, Sunwing, WestJet), Montreal (Air Transat, Sunwing, WestJet), and Quebec City seasonally (Sunwing) also have direct flights to Saint Martin.

From the Caribbean (and Latin America)

Apart from Panama (Copa Airlines) and Suriname (Fly All Ways), all other direct connections to/from the island are within the Caribbean.

Grand Case Espérance Airport

This is the airport for the French side of the island, located in the town of Grand Case. It only handles a few flights and is not equipped for large aircraft.

• Name: Grand Case Espérance Airport

• IATA Code: SFG

• Hub: No

• Number of Terminals: 1

• Passenger Capacity/Year:

• Passenger Traffic:

• Distance to City Center:

• Website: http://www.saintmartin-airport.com

Services and Transport

Princess Juliana Airport

This is the airport for the Dutch side and by far the most important. It is world-famous for its proximity to Maho Beach, where planes pass just a few meters above beachgoers during landing.

• Name: Clayton J. Princess Juliana International Airport

• IATA Code: SXM

• Hub: Insel Air and Winair

• Number of Terminals: 4

• Passenger Capacity/Year: 2.5 million

• Passenger Traffic: 1,645,000 (2011)

• Distance to City Center:

• Website: http://www.sxmairport.com

Services and Transport

Additional Information