St. Maarten Airport Set to Reopen Post Hurricane Irma

St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana Airport will welcome its first air traffic since shutting its doors in early September when local carrier Winair resumes regular service on Oct. 6.

The flights will go take passengers from St. Maarten to Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barts, and St. Kitts, with other service expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Winair will be followed by Dutch flagship carrier KLM, the first major carrier to announce it will return to the island, when it resumes flights from Amsterdam beginning Oct. 29. That service, which was four-times-a-week before Irma, will now be twice-weekly.

According to reports, Princess Juliana, which is famous for its proximity to the Caribbean’s blue-water beaches, suffered damages of up to $100 million from Hurricane Irma.

The airport shut its door after Irma made impact and images shared on social media showed damage both inside and outside the airport, including major damages to its jet bridges, terminals, and perimeter fence.

Airport St. Martin unreachable at the moment. High priority for the delivery of help and supplies. #Irma pic.twitter.com/7I8Qqmauvj

— Koninklijke Marine (@kon_marine) September 7, 2017