PHILIPSBURG:--- The Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is represented at one of the most reputable Air Service Development conferences, Routes Americas 2021. The networking platform will be critical at stimulating the recovery of the market. SXM Airport is represented both in-person and through joint virtual meetings with the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. Routes Americas is hosted in Orlando, Florida at the Omni Hotel and Resort from June 22 to June 25, 2021.
According to the Director of Latin America and the Caribbean of Routes Americas, David Appleby, the hybrid event is once again delivering a platform for airports and destinations to highlight cost-effective route propositions to airline decision-makers as they commit to rebuild their network and reintroduce capacity back into the market. Throughout the last three years, over 875 new routes in the Americas market were connected through meetings at Routes events. Today, some of the attendees include Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Southwest Airlines, Aruba Airport Authority, Curaçao International Airport, and much more.
Mr. Emile Levons of the Airport’s Operations Management explained that as a result of other affiliate teams attending its previous conferences, the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) connection via American Airlines and St. Maarten became a reality in Summer 2021. This air service connectivity captures a much-needed west coast connection.
“Our commitment of being at the Routes Americas 2021 is to let the aviation community know that St. Maarten and its associated hub partners are opened for leisure and business travel since 2020 amidst global setbacks encountered through COVID-19. At our meetings, we emphasized that the start of the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project will commence in the fourth quarter of 2021 and is marketed through our ongoing Public Outreach Campaign. We presented the new design plan of the future facilities through an artist's impression of the finished product. The project was also announced to be on schedule for completion in 2023,” summarized Mr. Emile Levons.
The delegation includes the Aeronautical Business Manager, Miss Suzy Kartokromo, and Corporate Communication Specialist, Mrs. Audrey St. Luce - Jack who also met with airline partners such as, United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, and representatives of the Aviation Week Network. The multimedia group publisher of the Aviation Week Network is primed to highlight the SXM Airport in associated publications and was updated about the local passenger recovery efforts, COVID-19 prevention, and mitigation measures, the COVID-19 Airport Test Center, and new upgrades to the Arrival Hall to better accommodate passenger flow following the recent cruise homeporting milestone.
We’ve heard from airline CEOs, association leaders, and experts about their experience throughout the pandemic and what we need to do as a community to make positive steps toward the new normal. Live panel discussions and meetings are scheduled to resume on June 24, 2021, whereby delegates will also have the opportunity to partake in sessions entitled “Airport Heavyweights” and “Innovation – Alternative ways of generating revenue” with exclusive airline briefings from Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airlines.
For more information on the routes development forum please visit the website at www.routesonline.com and follow all the SXM Airport’s social media platforms for related updates.