As tourists stand on the beach, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner swoops down and lands less than 100 feet overhead. They raise their hands and take pictures. You may be asked later if the photo is real.
Maho Beach, on the northeast Caribbean island of St. Maarten, is a haven for aviation geeks and thrill seekers. Due to its small size and unique topography, the Princess Juliana International Airport landing strip is separated from the beach by a single road. During peak season, 50 to 70 flights land daily, making it almost within reach.
“It’s scary,” said Franklin Wilson, who works in the airport’s operations department. “It feels like it’s coming straight at me.”
St. Maarten is an eclectic mix of cultures and cuisines, making it a convenient base for island hopping tourists. But for many foreigners, the island’s biggest attraction is the planes themselves.
Known as the “Friendly Island,” St. Maarten is a major transportation hub in the northeastern Caribbean. The 36 square mile area is divided into two parts, with the larger northern part under French rule and known as Saint-Martin. The more populated southern part is part of the Netherlands and is called Sint Maarten. There are two airports, one in France and one in the Netherlands, but most planes land at Princess Juliana on the Dutch side. Under the IATA code SXM, the airline serves more than 1 million travelers annually with direct flights from France, the Netherlands and throughout the United States.
“It’s thrilling,” says Meilin Chun, Sint Maarten’s tourism director. “You’re asking yourself, ‘Where am I going to land? People are looking out the window and kind of squeezing the armrests of their chairs.’
The airport has been in operation for over 80 years, originally opening as a military airstrip in 1942. It has long been a fascination for aviation geeks around the world, and in the Instagram era it has become a hot spot for influencers and content creators.
“For a lot of people, this is on their bucket list,” said Irving Maduro, who works with Wilson in airport operations and is also a freelance photographer. “I get messages from quite a few influencers asking for their photos to be taken.”
For many pilots, landing on an SXM is a dream come true.
“They love this view,” Maduro said. “They love seeing people on the beach below.”
The people below, and the difficulty of landing so close to the fence separating the public road and the runway, are rivaled only by Greece’s Skiathos International Airport. It can bring out the competitive side of a pilot.
“Some pilots have a kind of contest (to see how low they can land),” says Wilson, who also works as a freelance photographer. “Some of my images have some planes literally just a few feet above the fence.”
Safety is always a priority, but there is also an element of performance for the audience.
“There are pilots who get high grades, and then there are pilots who show great performance,” Maduro said.
The lower the approach, the faster the landing.
“When you see a plane going over the ocean, you know this guy is coming in hot,” Wilson says. “You have to go very fast to maintain that altitude. I’ve seen tourists get scared that planes are coming towards them.”
For those in the know, there is one aircraft that makes more spectacular landings than others.
“Whenever I find out this Brazilian plane is coming, I always get excited and head to the airport,” Wilson says. “They always have a low profile with beachgoers. They always give us something to look forward to.” The private jet arrives like clockwork every Christmas Day, he says.
Some bystanders were also injured. Despite clear warnings not to stand behind a plane as it takes off, tourists often do so to feel the wind from the engine. On the coast, the explosion could be so powerful that people could jump into the sea. More reckless visitors cling to the fence and try to get as close to the plane as possible, but this can be fatal. In 2017, a 57-year-old tourist from New Zealand died after falling from a fence during the blast from departing Flight 737.
“A lot of people go there for that explosion,” Maduro said. “I see them hanging on the fence and standing right behind the plane. I wouldn’t do that. I know how dangerous it is and how much thrust the engines put out.”
When Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017, it caused extensive damage.
“The airport was completely destroyed,” Chun said. “It caused confusion.”
Since then, Princess Juliana Airport has been rebuilt and has become a symbol of the island’s resilience. It was officially reopened in 2024 by Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.
It was a fitting fanfare for an airport beloved by enthusiasts and travelers alike. Its uniqueness and storied history make this airport unlike any other in the world.
“I’ve been doing this for over 20 years,” Maduro said. “No two landings are the same every day.”
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