News & Media

Hyman tells NBAA Convention in Las Vegas: SXM Airport is Open for Business and so is St. Maarten

Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (Sunday, October 15, 2017) - The Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM Airport) is open for business and so is St. Maarten. That was the message that a delegation of the airport consisting of Michel Hyman, COO/Acting CEO and members of the Supervisory Board of Directors, Alex Dijkhoffz, Cleveland Beresford, Myra Lynch-York and Jimmy Temmer, as well as Director of the Tourist Bureau Rolando Brison, spread to participants at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition is considered the sixth largest trade show in the US and the world’s largest business aviation event. Some 27,000 industry professionals attended this year’s Convention, mostly professionals in the General Aviation sector. The trade show ended on October 12, 2017.

“Our participation at this year’s convention has been met with very positive responses from the industry,” stated Michel Hyman. “We let everyone and the whole world know that we are open for business with the same excellent services and accommodations. We also announced the forthcoming groundbreaking for the new Fixed Based Operations (FBO) building that will improve our services in the General Aviation field.”

“We met with several operators and companies and we were well received by all,” Hyman said. He said the delegation held discussions with Signature Flight Support, Execujet, World Fuel Services, Million Air, Universal and Rockwell Collins, among others.

“The discussions were fruitful. They were extremely happy to hear first-hand about the latest developments on St. Maarten and at the airport following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria over a month ago. All of them expressed the importance of the St. Maarten route to their network and operations and committed themselves to working with the airport and the island in bringing across information about the developments that are taking place to others in the industry, Hyman said.”

According to Hyman, all the operators and companies the SXM Airport delegation met with in Las Vegas indicated that “they would be reaching out to others who apparently only had half information or false information about what was happening on the island’.

Hyman gave a Power Point presentation at the Convention that focused on “the impact of the hurricanes, our recovery goals and the timeline to achieve these, and the way forward for the airport as well as the groundbreaking for the new FBO building.” This was well received. SXM Airport also had a quarter-page ad running for the duration of the Convention in the “NBAA Convention.

“Our presence meant a lot to all the attendees who were impressed by the fact that St. Maarten and the airport are already in the recovery stage. The SXM delegation was very satisfied with the way the industry reacted to our presentation,” Hyman said.

“I am confident that we have a lot to look forward to regarding the executive travel and General Aviation during the coming holiday period,” he said, adding: “PJIAE will remain focused on working with its stakeholders to obtain positive results in this sector.”