SXM airport update

While they technically made the reopening date of Dec 15, the airport has a long way to go. Our first trip through was on Thursday the 6th, and it was through the tent, and in retrospect it was smooth, quick and painless. The return trip through the newly opened airport was rocky, slow and painful.

I realize that this was the first day they were open and I'm comparing a midweek trip to a Saturday but those are the only two data points I have.

We landed a few minutes after 1:00 and barely made our 4:00 flight! That's a bit of an exaggeration, but we essentially spent the entire time standing in various lines except the final 10 minutes when we were able to get some much needed water. (We stupidly dumped our water in SBH and they didn't do any sort of outgoing inspection so I'd advise bringing a bottle with you when you leave SBH). Another note on the water - the Dominos Pizza place where I bought it doesn't take credit cards yet, and only takes American dollars.

We probably spent 90 minutes waiting in line to get our boarding passes and check bags. We were on Delta which was by far the longest line in the place so had we been on a different airline the experience would have been different.

From there it was to a line for immigration. Then it was to a long line for security which deposited into what I thought was final waiting area. This was where I bought the water. We were standing there for a few minutes and they announced our flight would be boarding soon, so we sort of moved to the end of the room where we thought the gates were and a lot of people were milling about. Turns out we were in the wrong place!

You have to make your way to the end the end of the "lounge" area (a long narrow room), down a hallway and into the good old departure area. Naturally there was a bottle neck and a line to get into that room and general confusion in there.

It was fairly warm throughout the journey. They had A/C, but it was hardly cool.

So my message is, bring water, give yourself as much time as possible and keep your expectations low.

I'll post some pics from my phone below.

The area to get boarding passes and check luggage.






The lounge area with a couple food and drink options.

Thanks Bart for posting the pix & the info about departing from SXM now. Hopefully will improve as time goes on, never enough seats @SXM since started our SBH trips almost 25 yrs ago. Never enough improvement.

what if you had your boarding passes in hand and carry-on bags only.. would it have been a better experience?

NancySC said:

Thanks Bart for posting the pix & the info about departing from SXM now. Hopefully will improve as time goes on, never enough seats @SXM since started our SBH trips almost 25 yrs ago. Never enough improvement.

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there were always seats in the VIP lounge they used to have, it was a good option if you had a long wait...

Check out the smiling faces. Oh, I didn’t see any either.

elgreaux said:

what if you had your boarding passes in hand and carry-on bags only.. would it have been a better experience?

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Yes, definitely!!!

We had a slight problem with over shopping (and bringing back more than 3 ounces of rhum) so one bag needed to be checked. Had we been doing carry on, I would have tried printing boarding passes. But for this trip waiting in line was inevitable.

Doesn’t matter pre or post Irma- we NEVER travel thru SXM on weekends.

We toughed it out at SXM, can't imagine a VIP lounge there or it being enjoyable. Of all the airports...our least favorite followed by MIA & PHL.

We are a broken record- I know- but consistently Puerto Rico is a breeze compared to what you described!

Yes, Ellen. It was a better experience for us today: carry on and boarding passes in hand. We literally avoided all of the lines.
Bart, sorry for your wait. Glad you made the flight!
We just landed in EWR.

Take care. Glad things went smoothly for you.

We arrived yesterday via United flight. We were greeted by a St Bart Commuter representative after leaving the plane-bus who escorted us through the entire process of getting bags, putting us through short cut lines through immigration and directing us to the SBC departure gate. He even got us on an earlier flight to SBH. When looking at the chaos around the airport were so happy to have chosen SBC. What Service!

Wonderful to arrive trouble free. Welcome back abc.

we will arrive early February, and are taking SBC for the first time in/out of SXM to SBH. Please clarify - does SBC provide some aspect of concierge service? I've read several times about how helpful they are upon arrival in SXM. But what about departing from SXM back to the US? We will have carry on, and try to print our boarding passes while still in SBH, and always use Premium IV, but can PIV really help much in the current situation for returning to the US? Or are we doomed to standing in lines. We've learned long ago about the transfer desk, packing light and avoiding lines, but it seems that may not be possible. Thanks!

bethwoff said:

we will arrive early February, and are taking SBC for the first time in/out of SXM to SBH. Please clarify - does SBC provide some aspect of concierge service? I've read several times about how helpful they are upon arrival in SXM. But what about departing from SXM back to the US? We will have carry on, and try to print our boarding passes while still in SBH, and always use Premium IV, but can PIV really help much in the current situation for returning to the US? Or are we doomed to standing in lines. We've learned long ago about the transfer desk, packing light and avoiding lines, but it seems that may not be possible. Thanks!

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PIV got us through the lines quickly, coming and going, during the tent situation; the quickest we've ever gotten through since we started going to the island in 2006. Just check with Vincent to make sure he is able to do VIP at SXM with the new setup.

...does SBC provide some aspect of concierge service?

Not in our experience, they don't. However, they are very efficient. And if they know your incoming flight and are motivated to fill an earlier flight to SBH they have done this with us. Might save them from sending a flight later, or perhaps accommodate passengers arriving on a flight that's coming in late.

From what I can tell, the problem transferring is OUTBOUND, not inbound. SBC and Winair were right past Immigration and if you were transfering they quickly got you escorted through security to the departure gate.

The issues are on the way home. Unless you have carry-on and have printed your boarding passes, you must go through a lot of hoops to check in with the airline, drop your bags and then go through the security screen with everyone leaving SXM. We transferred before the terminal reopened but the process Bart described was similar. I have to say the workers at SXM were helpful in shepherding people through but it was crowded and confusing. I imagine the partially opened airport is similar, because it was not designed to be used in its current configuration.

But it is all worth it to be in SBH....even on the way home...

In bound, SBH Commuter is the only way to go unless you are flying private. Outbound, you are on your own no matter who you use but premium IV can be helpful. Also SBH Services- let's not forget them- Sabine can be helpful calling over to SXM for you.