Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) is the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. The airport is located on the Dutch side of the island. It is named after Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, who landed there while still only heir presumptive in 1944. Due to high terrain to the East, arriving aircraft approach the airport from the West, flying low over the famous Maho Beach. The proximity of Maho Beach to the runway has made the airport one of the world's favorite places among planespotters despite the dangers.
The Juliana Terminal Maneuvering Area controls a relatively small area within the San Juan CERAP covering the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten as well as some of the surrounding islands up to FL150. The airspace also borders the Piarco FIR to the Southeast.
Due to the high terrain East of Princess Juliana Airport, all departure procedures out of RWY10 instruct aircraft to turn right towards the ocean as soon as practicable to gain some altitude before turning towards their departure waypoints. In order to separate jet aircraft from propeller aircraft, different departure procedures are used for different aircraft types. In general, propeller aircraft fly Southwest after departure (BOPAT2 and MULLT2 departures), allowing jet aircraft to depart without delay to the South (MODOR2 departure). There is just one standard arrival into TNCM, ULUBA1, which takes aircraft from the borders of the TMA onto the VOR Approach for RWY10, although radar vectors are usually given to guide aircraft into Sint Maarten.
Juliana TMA from the surface up to FL150
There are two restricted areas within the Juliana TMA, stretching from the French side of Saint Martin to nearby island, Saint-Barthélemy, from the ground up to 2600ft.
Grand Case-Espérance Airport
5nm Northast of TNCM
L'Espérance Airport, also known as Grand Case Airport, is a public use airport located in Grand Case, on the French side of Saint Martin. The airport is mainly used for flights to Guadeloupe and Saint Barth, as well as private aircraft. It is the second and smaller airport of Sint Maarten, after Princess Juliana. Due to the short length of the runway, larger aircraft, such as the ATR 72-500, are forced to powerback after lining up on the runway for departure.
Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport
10nm Northeast of TNCM
Formerly known as the Anguilla Wallblake Airport, the Clayton J. Lloyd Airport is a small international airport located on the island of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. The airport is located very close to The Valley, the island's capital, and was also a featured airport in one of the Flight Simulator X game demos
Saint Barthélemy Airport
17nm Southeast of TNCM
Saint Barthélemy Airport is a public use airport located in the village of St. Jean on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy. The airport is also known as Gustaf III Airport, Rémy de Haenen Airport and St. Jean Airport. The short airstrip is at the base of a gentle slope ending directly on the beach. The arrival descent is extremely steep over the hilltop traffic circle, making it a famous approach within the Flight Simulation community.
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
25nm Southwest of TNCM
The airport, named after the Aruban Minister Juancho Irausquin, has the shortest commercial runway in the world, only 400 meters (1,312 ft) long, flanked on one side by high hills, with cliffs that drop into the sea at both ends. Although the airport is closed to jet traffic, regional airline propeller aircraft are able to land there under waivers from The Netherlands Antilles' Civil Aviation Authority. The most common aircraft to land there are the STOL-capable de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and BN-2 Islander.
F. D. Roosevelt Airport
33nm South of TNCM
F. D. Roosevelt Airport is located on the island of Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands. It was opened as "Golden Rock Airport" in 1946 and subsequently named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As of 2012, the only commercial aircraft that serves the island is the DHC-6 Twin Otter, although the runway can accommodate larger turboprop aircraft and some smaller jets.