St. Maarten / St. Martin Listed Three Times in list of Worlds Shortest International Flights
As our many frequent visitors know, St. Maarten / St. Martin has a hub function for the northeastern Caribbean, allowing for island hopping and day trips to other islands throughout the region. Anguilla is only 7 kilometers away at its closest points, St. Barths 29 kilometers, Saba 49, Statia 62 and St. Kitts 84. All of these islands are within eyesight of St. Maarten / St. Martin.
Our binational character of having both a Southern or Dutch side (St. Maarten) and Northern or French side (St. Martin) has over time led to the fact that there are two airports on the island. Princess Juliana International Airport takes care of intercontinental flights, regional connections and private jets, Grand Case Airport L’Esperance exclusively serves other French Caribbean islands like Martinique, St. Barthelemy (St. Barths) and Guadeloupe.
This combination of two airports on only a 89 square kilometer surface leads to St. Maarten / St. Martin being listed three times in a listing of World’s Shortest International Flights by online magazine Simple Flying. St. Martin to St. Barthelemy made the list, as did the trips from autonomous St. Maarten to Dutch Saba and the one to British Anguilla. The fact that the island captures three out of eight spots in this global listing only underlines the opportunities to use the destination as a base for day trips throughout the region.
A fun fact is that Dominos used this vicinity of borders in conjunction with local carrier Winair to set a record for most nations served with hot pizzas. Their location at Princess Juliana International Airport and a special bag allows Dutch islands Saba and Statia to enjoy their pizzas still piping hot after a 15 minute flight. Dominos of course already had an international delivery going with autonomous country St. Maarten and French territory St. Martin.