Things are likely to be a bit hectic at Princess Juliana International Airport SXM today after the blizzard that practically buried much of the US Northeast in snow over the weekend. Thousands of
flights from that region were cancelled starting Friday, especially Saturday and even Sunday.
It regards not just the destination’s biggest source market, but also the height of the tourism season and the busiest travel days of the week. For one thing, the bulk of Dutch-side timeshare weeks run from Saturday and some from Friday or Sunday.
The first thing to keep in mind is that such storms are so-called “Acts of God,” meaning that nobody, neither the airline nor the resort where visitors stay, is in principle responsible for any inconvenience and additional cost. Moreover, making demands that can’t reasonably be met usually only worsens the situation for all concerned.
The carriers that service the island are no doubt doing their utmost to get everyone out and in as quickly as possible, but the backlog was enormous. It’s obviously frustrating for those with pressing matters back home but forced to extend their stay, but the most appropriate advice is that they still try to enjoy themselves.
Of course, resorts can let stranded travellers use rooms that were booked for new guests not able to fly in, but the two normally don’t completely overlap, so that some visitors probably had to be moved. That too may be a bit annoying, but taking the reason into account people also should show some understanding and restraint.
Those who were not in hurry to return actually might have welcomed the idea of remaining in a tropical paradise a day or two more, rather than going back to the cold and after-storm conditions. Either way, the only sensible thing to do is to make the best of it.
