PJIAE President drs. Eugene Holiday has called for continued caution in the handling of the affairs of the airport. Addressing employees at the airport company's annual year-end party on December 19 2009, the PJIAE President forecast that 2010 will present challenges. "There will be continued economic uncertainty globally and high unemployment in the US and it is expected that 2010, like 2009 will continue to present financial economic challenges," he said.

Repeating an appeal he made at the 2008 year-end party, he again called for continued commitment to PJIAE's mission to be 'A Regional Leader'. "To overcome these challenges will as I said in 2008 for 2009, depend on our collective actions. With 2009 coming to an end and 2010 - with its challenges - around the corner, I call on your continued commitment, individually and collectively, because it is only by working together that we can overcome these challenges and achieve our mission to be the best airport in the world," he said.

read more >>

PJIAE on Monday Morning December 21, 2009 opened the bids for the diversion of the eastern airport road, extension of the runway and the implementation of the runway end safety areas (RESAs).

read more >>

CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization has reported that its first conference for Caribbean and Latin American ANSPs has been a significant advancement in the region for the organization. The event, held in Curacao and hosted by Netherlands Antilles Air Traffic Control (NAATC) attracted more than 100 delegates from across the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as representatives from the aviation industry world-wide. The response to the debates and workshops was strong and there was overwhelming support to return for a second conference in 2010. Among the keynote speeches were Mr. Maurice Adriaens, Minister of Transport of the Netherlands Antilles and Alexander ter Kuile, Secretary General of CANSO. PJIAE Director of Air Traffic Services Mr. Jan Brown and ATC Supervisor Mr. Lloyd Hinds represented St. Maarten.

read more >>

Air Caraïbes inaugural transatlantic flight to St. Maarten on Saturday Dec. 12, was greeted with much fanfare at Princess Juliana Airport (PJIA) as airport officials, the two tourism offices, and Government 2009 ignitaries from both sides of the island laid on the full red carpet treatment.

read more >>

Network Latin America 2009 has come and gone. On December 7 and 8 2009, PJIAE hosted some 178 delegates representing various companies, namely airlines, airports, handling companies and other aviation related businesses. "There were some 330 one-to-one meetings between airlines and airports. PJIAE executives had 12 meetings with different airlines and these meetings were mostly successful and hopeful," reported PJIAE President drs. Eugene Holiday at the wrap-up conference at which he was joined by Mr. Mark Pilling, Editor of Airline Business Magazine, the organizer of the conference.

The PJIAE President explained that since PJIAE measures success from its ability to perform at highest possible standards, he was satisfied with how the conference went. "Based on the feedback we received, we may conclude that Network Latin America 2009 was a success. The objectives of the conference to create a forum for aviation exchange, while showcasing our airport and our island have been achieved," he said.

read more >>

After an encouraging resumption of operations in May 2009, FlyMontserrat is appealing to Caribbean Governments to introduce open sky agreements in the region, as this would not only ease their operations, but boost intra-regional travel as well. Nigel Harris, who operated the airline until the Soufriere Hills volcano closed down Montserrat's airport in 1995, told Horizons that he is currently operating on three islands - Montserrat, Antigua and Anguilla - and would like to extend his itinerary to as far as Tortola. The airline just received its ICAO certification. They operate two Jetstream aircraft and two Islanders, and plan to add one Twin Otter to their fleet. The airline also opetates air ambulance flights.

read more >>

Probably the most remarkable statement at the Network Latin America conference was made by Mauricio Moreira, of Brazilian airline GOL. Challenging his audience during the panel discussion on Monday December 6, Mr. Moreira boasted about with his company's operational target to turn-around aircraft from touch-down to departure in less than 20 minutes; he was adamant that operational efficiency is key to sustainability.

read more >>

PJIAE President drs. Eugene Holiday has called for continued action aimed at increasing and diversifying our airlift by seeking to among others establish air services from Latin America.

He referred to the annual Network Latin America conference which was held at Westin, St. Maarten on December 6 - 8, 2009 as an excellent forum for the purpose of spurring new business. "I welcome this opportunity for us as airlines and airports to search for new and mutually beneficial opportunities for our companies. This is especially important in the current challenging economic conditions."

read more >>