The Eastern Caribbean's aviation regulatory bodies are making good headway in terms of information exchange, it was reported at the end of a four day meeting of the ICAO Eastern Caribbean Working Group. Over 35 delegates representing nine countries from the region and two international organisations met in St. Maarten from June 15 to 18.

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A true aviation gem, PJIAE's Fixed Based Operations (FBO) building can hold its own. The main private jet handlers at PJIA -TLC and Arrindell Aviation- operate from this facility since May 1, 2010. The sheer uniqueness of an airport in the region that has a dedicated building for private jet operations explains why PJIAE remains in the lead of the aviation industry. Anyone who has the opportunity to visit and tour the facility would agree.

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Princess Juliana International Airport operating company organized a drive in collaboration with the Red Cross St. Maarten Chapter, to send relief goods to Haiti which was hit by a devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010. As part of this initiative, PJIAE appealed to the general public of St. Maarten/St. Martin to donate bottled water, clothing and canned goods, to the Red Cross headquarters in Simpson Bay.

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June is FOD month at PJIAE. During the entire month, workers from all companies operating at PJIA take part in activities meant to increase the awareness to the causes and effects of foreign objects damage to aircraft, people, and property. "This is our third year doing this," said Michel Hyman, PJIAE's Acting Manager of Operations.

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Production of an orientation DVD for new workers is nearing completion, says Quality Assurance Department (QAD) Manager Anastacio Baker. The DVD will be a visual instructional tool, about 30 to 40 minutes long. It will be mandatory for each new employee of every company that operates at PJIA to sit through a screening of it. "It will feature all basic safety and security features at PJIA, and about the dangers of working around aircraft which every employee in the aviation industry should know. It will be mandatory for every new employee that comes to work here and needs a security pass," said Mr. Baker.

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Government and airport officials were on hand late Saturday evening June 12 2010, to welcome the inaugural charter flight by Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL). The Boeing 737-700 touched downed gracefully at 9.45 p.m. carrying 123 passengers from Sao Paolo and a group of Brazilian journalists, bound for Sonesta Maho Beach Resort.

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Thirteen airport security screening officers who took part in the Aviation Security (AVSEC) 123 Basic Training received their certificates of completion on Friday June 18th. The training, conducted by Mr. Arthur Tholel, AVSEC Inspector at the Federal Directorate of Civil Aviation, started on June 7th, also included a special module, which Security Department Manager Jerry Sprott, and supervisors Wayne van Putten and Antonio Janga followed, to be able to conduct the training themselves, as certified Civil Aviation trainers in the future.

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Regional airline WINAIR has announced three new routes; as of June 28th 2010 the airline is flying to St Lucia, Dominica and Tortola. Managing Director; Edwin Hodge said the new routes were achieved after extensive and significant talks that the airline. "This will help to boost the company's operations," he said. "I have to admit that we are very excited to launch these new routes as it helps us in being able to provide a better and enhanced service to the people of the region." He said that the new flights will complement WINAIR's existing service to a number of destinations providing customers more travel options when they use WINAIR.

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As he is heading into the final six months of his two-year presidency of the Islands Airport Safety Committee, Anastacio Baker, PJIAE's Manager of the Quality Assurance Department says that the committee has come a long way. "The airports of the islands have learned a lot from the audits that we have carried out on ourselves; you can see the improvements. We all took it very serious," Baker said.

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Regional airline Windward Islands Airways "WINAIR", has upgraded its website to allow passengers from Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten to purchase tickets on Insel Air. Vice President of Marketing Mr. Claudio Buncamper urged users to take advantage of the numerous benefits available. He said that he is confident that the new partnership between WINAIR and Insel Air will bear significant fruits as it demonstrates the growing popularity and holistic growth of WINAIR.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been spelling out its vision of air travel in 2050, promising clean, safe and delay-free travel for the world's travelers. IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani, buoyed by new projections that suggest this year will see the first recovery in airline profitability after the recession, laid out his plans a day ahead of the ILA Berlin Air Show which begun June 8.

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Back from the 10th annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, Steve Kong, Manager of TLC Aviation, one of the private jet handlers at PJIA, sees opportunities for St. Maarten.

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PJIAE's Operations Division Director Mr. Larry Donker attended the first "Airport Management Know How" conference held by SITA Aero in Trinidad and Tobago, from June 10 to 11. There Mr. Donker made a presentation on "PJIAE challenges prior to the New Terminal Building and present working relationship with SITA".

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While 2009 has proven to be a very turbulent year for the aviation industry, preliminary reports show that the global results for the year were less depressed than originally anticipated. Airports Council International (ACI) preliminary results show a 2.7 percent decline in global passenger traffic for 2009. The economic downturn, which started in 2008 with staggering fuel prices and the outbreak of the H1N1 virus in the early part of 2009, have had a significant impact on global traffic, and traffic at Princess Juliana International Airport was not exempted. As a result of these developments PJIAE has also seen a decline in traffic volumes in 2009, recording a total in passenger movements of 1,625,964 compared to 1,726,656 in 2008 - a 5.8% decrease. Table 2.1 below gives an overview of the yearly passenger traffic from 2005 through 2009.

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St. Martin tourism officials are in talks with an unnamed carrier to offer scheduled nonstop airline service from a New Jersey-based airport to L'Espérance Airport in Grand Case Airport later this year, said the director of the St. Martin Office of Tourism.

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PJIAE now offers advertising in its jetbridges. Since mid June 2010 colourful advertising depicting beautiful Caribbean people enjoying Caribbean life, escort arriving passengers as they disembark their aircraft on the way to the terminal building.

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Curacao based commuter airline says it saw further growth in the year 2009. "Insel Air doubled its Jet (MD80) fleet from two to four Jets, bringing its total fleet to six aircrafts by the end of 2009 (four Jets MD-80 and two Turbo props EMB 110) and almost doubled its revenues again, from ANG53 million in 2008 to ANG97 million in 2009," the airline stated in its 2009 annual report that was released in May 2010. "The year 2009 was characterized by both an expansion and a consolidation of operations. In a year in which most airlines showed substantial losses, Insel Air maintained a positive result, despite the additional expenses incurred for the integration of the new aircrafts and for safety improvements (IOSA)," the statement read. The revenue from the passenger division and the cargo division almost doubled. The revenue from charters grew with a double-digit percentage.

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PJIAE was the [Red] business of April; throughout the month several HIV/AIDS awareness activities were held, in line with this year's [Red] Campaign theme, "Act [Red], Go Test." The [Red] Campaign was launched in 2008 by the HIV/AIDS Program Management Team of the Island Government of St. Maarten Sector Health Care Affairs, to foster and broaden private sector and community-based involvement in the island's HIV/AIDS program, and to raise public awareness and provide education about the issues related to HIV/AIDS on St. Maarten. Every month a different business promotes the campaign, dedicating time to the cause.

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PJIAE has expressed condolences to the families of the late Mr. Siegfried Francisca and Mr. Auxencio Isenia, who perished when the tragic earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010.

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PJIAE has adopted the classroom of Group 8, Grade 6 at St. Joseph School. The primary school on Front Street that celebrates its 120th anniversary this year appealed to the business community of St. Maarten for help. "Our classroom furniture is outdated, unsafe, inadequate and older than 20 years. Some are literally falling apart," the school management stated in a detailed presentation, appealing for help. Companies were asked to "adopt a classroom" and PJIAE immediately responded.

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Tortola based BVI Airways has started operating flights to St. Maarten; online ticket sales started in April and the first flights was carried out on May 5th. The airline started operations with a schedule that will allow it to rapidly increase service to meet market demand. BVI Airways offer service between Tortola and Antigua on Wednesdays and Saturdays; between Tortola and St. Maarten on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays; between Dominica and St. Maarten on Fridays and Sundays.

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With the 2010 high season fast approaching, Air Caraibes is plotting its way onward despite all challenges, reports the airline's representative Zoe Wegnerowicz. She said that after the airline started its St. Maarten-Haiti-France flights in December last year, much has happened, but overall the service is doing well.

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The construction works that should lead to PJIA having a Runway Extension Safety Area (RESA) east of its runway are well underway.

Businesspeople who have been requested to relocate their signage to allow for speedy progress of the ongoing expansion works, have shown all willingness to work with airport authorities. During a meeting with management of the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company (PJIAE), Managers of Bada Bing, Mary's Boon Hotel, Karakter Restaurant, Rent 4 Less Car Rental and The Horny Toad Guesthouse, showed much appreciation for the upgrade that the ongoing RESA construction east of the airport runway means to the area. "This expansion of the airport runway is a unique development and we're happy to support," said Bada Bing owner Jaap van de Heuvel. Generally, the business people appreciated that the airport company took the time to brief them on the project.

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InselAir as of June 23 2010 has its own frequent flyer programme "Insel StarMiles." This programme is especially beneficial to the frequent international traveller with extra services and products such as Priority Check-In, Priority Boarding, Extra Baggage and even International Business Lounge Access, the company said in a press release.

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