The "Happy 70th" Story

Entrance to the Princess Juliana International Airport as it
appeared in 2010.  Today a new entrance marker exists, but
I haven't taken a photo of it yet.

It was an ordinary day.  Checking out a post on an online forum of photos taken of planes landing at the Princess Juliana Inter- national Airport (PJIA) on the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin. The island is part Dutch and part French with PJIA being on the Dutch side.   Planes just clear the beach and bathers before hitting the end of the runway.  

The original terminal building can be seen behind KLM's
twin engine prop plane.  This was taken sometime in the
1950s. Black and white photos are from the collection
of photos from Princess Juliana Airport.

I have posted photos that I have taken in the past, but I never get tired of looking at more of the same.  As I read on in the post I found that the PJIA will celebrate its 70th Anniversary on December 3rd of this year.  It was during World War II that the US aided the island in building an airfield with a runway just over 5,000 feet in length to be used as a military base, one of many throughout the Caribbean.  

This view of the runway is from 1963.  It carries the number
09/27 which eventually became 10/28.  It is located
between Simpson Bay on the right and the Simpson bay Lagoon.

It was to be used as a defense against German warships and submarines.  Eventually, in 1943, the airstrip was converted to a civilian airport and given to the country.  On December 3rd of that year KLM Dutch Airlines became the first commercial operator.  The following year saw the crown princess of the Netherlands, Julianna make a visit to the island and the airport was then named after her.  For over 20 years the airport saw few planes and visitors, but then in 1956 the Dutch developed plans to extend the runway and add a new terminal for larger aircraft.  

The new 1963 terminal with the control tower on the roof.

The runway work began in '61 and in '63 the modern terminal opened.  Eventually tourism followed with major airlines offering nonstop flights from the states.  Then in 1982 Air France began running  nonstop service from Paris, making their first trip to PJIA on December 3, 1986.  That same year the terminal was once again remodeled with separate arrival and departure areas.  Then in 1997 a three-phase master plan was implemented.  First the runway was widened, strengthened and renovated and a new apron was constructed.  

This photo was taken in the early 2000s after we landed.
This shows the upgrades from the '63 terminal.

Again the terminal was upgraded.  All parts of the first phase were competed by 2001.  Phase II began with the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower.  A new, modern terminal capable of handling 2.5 million passengers was begun as was a safety area at the end of the runway.  In 2004 the air traffic control tower and radar station opened and the new terminal opened in 2006 with 4 to 5 jetways for larger aircraft.  

Upgrades in the early 2000s added 4 of these jetways for
unloading and loading of passengers.

I can remember the early 2000s when most planes emptied their passengers onto the tarmac and they either took a bus to the terminal or they walked to the terminal.  Matter of fact, last year our plane pulled to the side of the terminal and we walked to the terminal.  To me that gives us a chance to exit the plane and feel that warm ocean air and know we are on vacation in St. Martin.  

December 16, 1989 President Francois Mitterrand of France
arrived aboard the Concorde for a meeting with US President
George H.W. Bush.  Flight from France took 3 hours, 55 minutes
on the supersonic jet.  It was the second and last time the
Concord made a trip to the Princess Julianna International Airport.
Photo from files of PJIA. Carol and I learned about the plane and
took a tour of the inside of it while visiting Barbados.

A few other remembrances of the old terminal were:  the luggage area where the suitcases entered through a hole in the wall, having to stand in line to pay your departure tax (this was before the airlines added it to the ticket price), getting a meal at Cafe Juliana, security workers wearing rubber gloves would open your suitcases before you got your boarding passes and everyone in line could see what was in you suitcases including your dirty clothes, and all the workers going on strike as we stood in line waiting to get our tickets.

The new terminal as it appears today with the jetways
coming from the terminal towards the landing area.

The workers marched through the terminal as others left their positions and joined them.  They had to hold the planes until the strike ended, about two hours later, and passengers could once again purchase their tickets and go through security.  Then I read about one of my favorite airport activities: taking photos of the planes as they fly over Maho Beach as they land.  

On the top right is the current terminal building which is
pictured above.  At the time is was being constructed and
the old terminal is on the left in the center of the photo.

The approach to Runway 09 is over water and it seems that  pilots can become disoriented when flying under visual flight rules.  I truly can never remember any plane scaring me as it approached the runway.  With the use of my 400mm lens I can actually see the pilots as they pass by me during the landing.  The thrilling approaches and landings are much better watching from the shores of Sint Maarten then being on the plane.  There have been two crashes over the years that had to do with PJIA.  In 1970 a plane crashed into the ocean due to fuel exhaustion after the plane had made several approaches that were aborted due to bad weather.  

The KLM four-engine jet as it flies over Maho Beach in
preparation for landing on the other side of the beach.
This is one of over 100 shots I have taken in the past.

Then two years later a plane crashed into the ocean en route from Guade- loupe.  No reason for that crash was given.  There were causalities in both crashes.  The Princess Juliana Inter- national Airport is featured in the free demo version of Microsoft Flight Simulator X and in the full version of the program is the destination on the mission called "Caribbean Landing".  PJIA also was featured on The History Channel as the 4th most dangerous airport in the world on their Most Extreme Airports.  But, in order to get to our paradise on earth, Carol and I close our eyes and hold our breath as we reach the PJIA runway.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.