News that Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) is ready to start the second reconstruction phase (see Wednesday paper) came at a most opportune time, with the fourth annual Caribbean Aviation CaribAvia Meetup taking place on the island. Any possible remaining doubt among regional industry players that the terminal would ever be restored to its former glory has now hopefully been removed.
The US $100 million project in fact promises more than that; namely, to transform the Hurricane Irma-damaged complex into a hurricane-resistant modern 21st-century airport. Work is expected to take about 18 months, which could mean completion in the second quarter of 2021.
During this week’s MeetUp, efforts to get back into category 1 status of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and establish US preclearance were also mentioned. The latter is strictly not part of PJIA’s rebuilding process financed for 50 per cent each with a grant from the Dutch-sponsored Trust Fund managed by the World Bank and a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
However, it must certainly be included in the government-owned company’s planning for the immediate future. After all, the move has proven quite beneficial especially to other destinations with a relatively large percentage of American travellers such as Aruba.
If the American government’s offer still stands and the necessary accommodations can be created, this should really be a no-brainer.
