It’s most famous for its just-beyond-the-beach landings. But St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport is now making its mark in another way: with a major improvement in passenger traffic. 

Airport officials told Caribbean Journal that the airport has made a “significant recovery” in passenger movements so far in 2024. 

That includes a very strong summer season that outperformed the numbers from the airport’s previous record-breaking year of 2016 (before Hurricane Irma). 

Right now, St Maarten’s airport is projected to surpass 1.7 million passenger movements, which would eclipse the earlier forecast of 1.55 million. 

It’s a “major achievement,” said Brian Mingo, CEO of the airport. “However, we must remain cautious as the travel industry is highly susceptible to fluctuations.”

The movement milestone comes after the airport opened its new departures hall in January 2024. 

Now, the goal is to complete the new Arrival Hall, which is slated to be operational in 2024. If you’ve traveled to the makeshift airport arrival facility lately, you know this will be a very welcome development.