St. Maarten travel surges on airlift growth and border upgrades

Published on Sep 29, 2025, 8:43 pm CDT

5 min read

St. Maarten travel accelerated in the second quarter of 2025, with airport arrivals up 16.9 percent year over year and cruise passenger counts rising 14 percent. Officials point to new infrastructure at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), including a rebuilt arrivals hall and automated border controls, plus a pipeline of fresh U.S. air service that helped deliver a record-breaking summer.

Key points

Why it matters: Demand is climbing as St. Maarten travel infrastructure scales up.
Travel impact: Faster arrivals at SXM and more nonstop options from major U.S. gateways.
What's next: JetBlue begins Fort Lauderdale flights in December 2025; Southwest follows from Orlando and Baltimore in April 2026.
Q2 2025 airport arrivals totaled 209,876; cruise visitors reached 236,391.
New luxury rooms added with the JW Marriott St. Maarten opening in 2024.

Snapshot

Government statistics confirm the jump: 209,876 airport passenger arrivals in Q2 2025, up 16.9 percent versus an adjusted 179,552 in Q2 2024, and 236,391 cruise passengers, up 14 percent. At SXM, the reconstructed arrivals hall reopened alongside a biometric Seamless Border program and a digital ED entry form at entry.sx, aimed at speeding immigration. Airlines are leaning in. JetBlue launches four-times-weekly Fort Lauderdale-SXM flights on December 4, 2025. Southwest adds daily Orlando-SXM and weekend Baltimore/Washington-SXM service starting April 2026, pending approvals. American announced Chicago O'Hare-SXM winter service from its ORD hub, and United's schedules show ORD-SXM frequencies as early as late 2025. On the lodging side, the JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa opened on Dawn Beach in March 2024.

Background

SXM's terminal reconstruction and arrivals-hall reopening capped years of recovery and modernization. The airport and Justice Ministry rolled out an automated border control system in October 2024, centered on a mandatory online ED form and biometric identity checks that reduce queues and improve throughput. Officials say the data standardization also sharpened the accuracy of arrival counts by excluding residents, transfers, and transits. With infrastructure stabilizing, the destination increased airline engagement and marketing, supporting additional lift from U.S. hubs. In parallel, upgrades on the hospitality side, including a top-tier JW Marriott conversion at the former Dawn Beach property, broadened the island's luxury offering and helped sustain peak-season momentum into summer.

Latest developments

Airlift expands into peak and shoulder seasons

JetBlue's Fort Lauderdale expansion includes a new SXM route starting December 4, 2025, operating four times weekly, reinforcing South Florida connectivity and benefiting St. Barts links. Southwest will debut daily Orlando-SXM flights on April 7, 2026, and add weekend Baltimore/Washington service two days later, unlocking connections from more than 45 U.S. cities, subject to approvals. American's ORD strategy adds Chicago-SXM seasonal service in winter 2025, complementing existing Caribbean growth. United's booking channels show ORD-SXM inventory in late 2025, indicating competitive service from the Midwest. Together, these routes diversify gateways and spread demand beyond traditional peak months.

Border experience gets faster with biometrics and digital forms

The arrivals hall reopening coincided with the Vision-Box Seamless Border deployment at SXM, integrating facial biometrics with travel document checks to accelerate the arrivals flow. The digital ED form is now part of pre-travel prep and, according to officials, helps reduce bottlenecks while improving security. Authorities also emphasize that refined data inputs from these systems underpin the reported growth rates and a more reliable baseline for planning.

Upscale rooms added as JW Marriott opens

The JW Marriott St. Maarten Beach Resort & Spa opened on Dawn Beach in March 2024, marking Marriott's luxury-brand debut on the island. The property adds modern rooms, spa, and event space, reinforcing the island's appeal for premium leisure and small meetings, and giving loyalty travelers another reason to choose SXM.

Analysis

The combination of hard infrastructure and commercial partnerships is paying off. Rebuilding SXM's arrivals hall and deploying automated border control directly targets the pain points most travelers feel first: long lines and inconsistent processing times. The digital ED form moves data collection upstream, which not only speeds arrivals but also gives authorities cleaner, more actionable tourism metrics. On the demand side, airlines rarely commit capacity without confidence in the ground experience and revenue mix. JetBlue's four-weekly FLL-SXM provides an immediate South Florida feeder that is resilient to seasonality. Southwest's April 2026 launch from Orlando and Baltimore will broaden access from family and value segments, while Chicago service from American, with United visible in schedules, opens a large Midwest catchment with strong winter getaway demand. Add a marquee luxury resort and St. Maarten is positioned to sustain higher yields across seasons. The key watch-items: ensuring immigration staffing keeps pace with peaks, coordinating cruise and airport surges on overlapping days, and maintaining airside capacity as more narrow-body leisure flights arrive within tight banks.

Final thoughts

For travelers, the signal is clear: St. Maarten travel is getting both easier and more plentiful. Expect faster arrivals at Princess Juliana International Airport, more nonstop choices from South Florida, the Midwest, Orlando, and Baltimore, and upgraded hotel options led by the JW Marriott. With infrastructure and airline partnerships aligned, the island appears set to build on its record summer while smoothing out the low season. If your plans include island-hopping to St. Barts or exploring both sides of the island, the coming year offers better schedules, shorter lines, and more rooms to choose from-all strong tailwinds for St. Maarten travel.