Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Princess Juliana International Airport (TNCM) sits on the Dutch side of Saint Martin, right on the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon, and is best known among pilots and plane-spotters alike for its dramatic low-altitude approach over Maho Beach. It is the principal international gateway to the island and a hub for Winair, linking the Windward and Leeward Islands to wider Caribbean and transatlantic routes.
Princess Juliana International Airport, identified by the ICAO code TNCM and IATA code SXM, is the main airport serving the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. It lies on the Dutch side of the island, in Sint Maarten, close to the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon, and is operated by the Princess Juliana International Airport Holding Company N.V. The field is a hub for Winair and the principal gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, Saint Barthélemy and Sint Eustatius, making it a lively and visually striking destination for visiting pilots.
The airport is located in Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten, close to the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon and adjacent to the well-known Maho Beach. A smaller public-use field, Grand Case-Espérance Airport, lies on the French side of the same island. The runway's proximity to the shoreline is a defining feature of the approach environment.
The airport has a single physical runway, 10/28, with a hard surface measuring 7529 feet in length. Both runway ends are lit, and there is no ILS approach available.
Air traffic services are provided on Juliana APP, 128.95 MHz, and Juliana TWR, 118.7 MHz. No ILS is available at the field.
Princess Juliana is notable for its very low-altitude approach, a consequence of one runway threshold lying extremely close to the shore and to Maho Beach; aircraft on final approach pass over the beach at very low height before touching down. Runway End Safety Areas of 150 metres, including a 60 metre overrun, were constructed at both ends of the runway to meet ICAO requirements as part of the airport's modernisation.
Maho Beach, immediately adjacent to the runway threshold, is the airport's most distinctive visual landmark and a well-known vantage point for observing arriving and departing traffic. Simpson Bay and Simpson Bay Lagoon, which the airport borders, are further useful references for pilots orientating themselves in the vicinity of the field.
The airport began as a United States military airstrip in 1942 during the Second World War, with the first commercial flight landing on 3 December 1943. It takes its name from the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, who visited the island via the airfield in 1944 and declared it a civilian airport. The field was remodelled and relocated in 1964, with a new terminal building and control tower, and facilities were further upgraded in 1985 and 2001. A three-phase masterplan commissioned in 1997 brought runway widening and strengthening, a new radar facility and air traffic control tower commissioned on 29 March 2004, and a new terminal that opened in late October 2006. On 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the island as a Category 5 storm and caused significant damage to the airport, blowing the roof off the terminal, damaging jetways and depositing sand and floodwater on the runway. The airport reopened on 10 October 2017 using temporary facilities while reconstruction continued over subsequent years, with the reconstructed check-in area opening in January 2024 and a new arrival hall reopening on 15 October 2024.
Princess Juliana International Airport remains a major Caribbean aviation hub and the principal gateway to Sint Maarten, serving as a hub for Winair and offering direct services to destinations across the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. The airport's low-altitude flyover approach over Maho Beach continues to be one of its most recognised features for both pilots and observers on the ground.
