Wednesday newsletters at all times function a lodge or flight overview.
Just a few weeks in the past, I loved a vacation in St Barths, the Caribbean’s most unique island. You possibly can learn my journey reviews right here:
- Evaluate: Air France Enterprise Class Airbus A330 from Paris to St Martin
- Evaluate: Winair Twin Otter flight from St Martin to St Barts (at the moment)
- Evaluate: Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barths
- Evaluate: Le Sereno St Barths
- Evaluate: Cheval Blanc St Barths
- Evaluate: Air France Enterprise Class Airbus A330 from St Martin to Paris
As we speak: Flight to St Barths (world’s most harmful airport?)
Following my flight with Air France from Paris to St Maarten, I took a flight with native service Winair from St Maarten to St Barts, the Caribbean’s most glamorous island. It turned out to be some of the memorable components of the journey. The island hop between St Maarten and St Barts lasts nearly quarter-hour, nevertheless it’s excessive on magnificence and even increased on adrenaline due to the famously dramatic touchdown at Gustaf III Airport, thought of one of many world’s most harmful airports. On this blogpost, I describe what the journey was like from takeoff to landing (though I imagine my YouTube video with the spectacular footage is extra telling than this text).
Have you ever ever flown to St Barts? If that’s the case, what was your expertise? Go away a remark.
On this article:
I made a YouTube video documenting your entire flight expertise, together with the thrilling touchdown at St Barts with cockpit view, which you’ll watch right here:
Why is St Barts thought of to be a harmful airport?
St Barts’ Gustav III Airport is usually ranked among the many most harmful airports on the earth for 2 causes:
- St Barts’ airport runway is just 2,119 ft (645 m) lengthy. Consequently, solely small prop planes are in a position to land at St Barts, because the runway is simply too brief for even the smallest jet engined airplane to land. Additionally, the brief runway requires exact pace and descent administration if pilots don’t wish to threat a runway overrun (which isn’t extraordinary at St Barts and has even been captured on digicam). That stated, near St Barts is the minuscule Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, also called the unique King Kong film island, which has a runway of solely 400 m (1300 ft), making this the world’s shortest business airport runway.
- St Barts’ airport runway has a steep hill on one aspect and ends on a seaside on the opposite aspect. Planes sometimes land within the route of the water, which means that plane descend steeply over the hilltop, with the runway starting instantly after this slope. This strategy over the hill is visually demanding, with little room for error. To additional complicate issues, excessive terrain close to the airport makes missed approaches and go-arounds notably difficult at St Barts. Most pilots will intention for a short-field touchdown approach at St Barts to maximise stopping distance.
Because the airport opened in 1984, there have been a number of incidents as properly one accident with fatality in 2001. Following this incident, the hilltop on the finish of the runway was lowered, offering pilots with a clearer view on remaining strategy. As well as, a number of procedures are in place at St Barts Airport:
- Visible Flight Guidelines (VFR): Operations are performed beneath VFR solely, as there aren’t any instrument approaches. Pilots should depend on visible landmarks and situational consciousness.
- Particular Qualification: Pilots should bear particular coaching or maintain particular certifications to land at St Barts on account of its issue.
Due to the decreasing of the hilltop and due to the required pilot certifications, the airport is now regarded by specialists as extraordinarily protected.
About Winair
Winair (brief for Windward Islands Airways Worldwide NV) is a government-owned Dutch regional based mostly in St Maarten. The service serves locations inside the Leeward Islands group of the Lesser Antilles within the North East Caribbean with a fleet of eight plane:
- Three ATR 42-500s, which might seat 49 passengers
- 5 DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, which might seat 19 passengers
Winair is the airline that gives essentially the most flights to St Barts (there are dozens of flights per day between St Maarten and St Barts, and generally they go away simply 5 minutes aside).
In its 60+ 12 months historical past, Winair has by no means had a deadly accident, which is a formidable security file, particularly when contemplating a number of the difficult airports that the airline flies to.
Transit at St Maarten Airport
For many vacationers to St Barts, the start line of their journey will probably be Princess Juliana Worldwide Airport (SXM) on the close by island of St Maarten, the closest main airport to St Barts. From SXM, it’s only a 15-minute flight over to St Barts. Most airways flying to SXM have a code-share with Winair and permit you to e book a journey with St Barts as remaining vacation spot. Nonetheless, normally, reserving a mixed journey is way dearer than reserving your worldwide flight and the flight from SXM to St Barts individually.
- Vacationers from North America can attain St Maarten by way of continuous flights from Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, New York Metropolis, Orlando, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.. There are additionally seasonal flights from Boston and Newark.
- Vacationers from Europe can attain St Maarten by way of continuous flights from Amsterdam and Paris.
Previous to my journey to the Caribbean, I keep in mind how tough it was to get detailed details about arriving in St Maarten and transiting to St Barts. FYI, I arrived from Paris with Air France after which took Winair (booked on a separate ticket) about two hours after arriving in SXM – and I’m glad I did as I’d not have made it in any other case. My Air France airplane arrived 30 min late (due to site visitors at SXM airport, why made us fly in a holding patterns for nearly one hour) and I solely waited 20 minutes earlier than boarding my subsequent flight with Winair. So please be sure you have on the very least two hours in between the 2 flights (when you have booked your tickets individually).
- If you happen to solely have carry-on baggage and you’ll be able to get your Winair boarding cross earlier than touchdown in SXM (the latter is just doable in the event you booked your tickets straight on the Winair web site), you’ll not need to exit the airport and might keep in transit airside. You simply proceed to the Winair switch desk inside the primary terminal and undergo a small safety station.
- You probably have checked baggage and/otherwise you don’t have your Winair boarding cross but, you’ll have to clear immigration, accumulate your baggage, exit the airport, re-enter the SXM airport, go to the Winair check-in counter, and go once more by means of safety, and so on. IMHO, on this state of affairs, you need to have at the least three hours in between the 2 flights (when you have booked your tickets individually), simply in case you might be coping with an sudden flight delay or strains on the airport.
FYI, most guests fly to the island from St Maarten, however there are additionally continuous flights to St Barts from San Juan, Puerto Rico; Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe; Antigua; and St Thomas, USVI.
Flight from St Maarten to St Barts
Passengers are taken by bus from SXM’s terminal to the Winair plane. All Winair flights to St Barts are operated by one of many service’s DHC-6-300 Twin Otters. These airplane have 19 seats, with the cabin organized in a 1-2 configuration. Winair has open seating onboard, so passengers can select no matter seat they need throughout the boarding course of. I like to recommend to go for a seat within the first row: there’s no door between the cockpit and cabin, so passengers within the first row can take loads of pictures.
The flight from St Maarten to St Barts takes solely quarter-hour, and it fairly uneventful, aside from the good views of St Maarten after takeoff from SXM. Nonetheless, the touchdown at St Barts is a distinct story and a completely thrilling expertise. Throughout the strategy into St Barts, the airplane crosses very low over a ridge prime after which descends steeply down the hill earlier than contact down. On prime of the hilltop is a small street, and throughout the steep descend planes usually fly proper over the heads of airplane spotters and their automobiles. That is fairly a view, particularly when seated within the entrance row (with a cockpit view). So as to add to the thrill, the airplane descends so steeply over the hill that you simply get a sinking feeling in your abdomen. All that is adopted by an abrupt cease on the runway, because the DHC-6-300 Twin Otter goes from touchdown pace to taxi pace in only a few seconds.
Arrival at St Barts Airport
All passengers arriving at St Barts have to clear immigration on the small however charming Gustav III Airport. The airport is known as after King Gustav III of Sweden, beneath whom Sweden obtained the island from France in 1784 (it was bought again to France in 1878). In 1984, the Swedish Minister of Communications, Hans Gustafsson, inaugurated the terminal constructing of the Gustaf III Airport, and never a lot has modified since then. The small constructing has open-air check-in areas, a lounge, and a small departure room. The realm across the airport is massively fashionable with airplane spotters although. For one of the best pictures, it is advisable stroll up the hill (which affords the long-lasting view of St Barts’ airport runway) or to the seaside.
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