In all honesty it was a bit disappointing to arrive at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) by plane on Saturday, having looked forward to the partial reopening of the terminal. The entrance for incoming passengers in any case didn’t look very impressive, with a broken sign over the doorway.
Inside too there were also plenty of signs that not all damage had yet been fixed and it remains a temporary situation. Truth be told, the facility is still far from what it used to be.
On the other hand, the sight of suitcases on a luggage belt for the first time since Hurricane Irma was certainly welcome. And the current setup is most definitely an improvement over the tents, also for outbound travellers, with five times the capacity in the departure area.
While it’s clearly a work in progress, there is concern about the operating company’s financial situation and its possible impact on the airport’s full rehabilitation. An insurance payment was received, but the cashflow problem was said to be acute.
The World Bank managing the Dutch-sponsored St. Maarten Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund has in principle made 43.9 million euros available for repairs to the terminal. Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Stuart Johnson told Parliament almost a month ago that an immediate capital injection of US $15 million was needed pending a loan from the World Bank/European Investment Bank (EIB), which apparently want to closely examine the government-owned company’s corporate governance structure first.
The latter may indicate issues with the decision-making process in the recent past and could delay a definite solution unless feasible alternatives are found. It’s not clear either at this point whether even provisional financing mentioned by the minister is possible.
Nevertheless, the terminal’s partial reopening coinciding with the start of the stayover tourism season inspires hope for the future and full restoration of the local hospitality industry. Cruise ships are again visiting in numbers and yachts have also begun to return, including the vessel owned by Tommy Hilfiger and one most recently used in the Bravo series “Below Deck” that featured St. Maarten in the past.
Much remains to be done, but there can be little doubt the destination is well on its way back.
