Dear Editor,
On August 24, 2026, Windward Islands Airways International (Winair) N.V. will be celebrating its 65th Birthday. A memorable day and a BIG thanks to the founding fathers Captain Georges Emilien Greaux and Hippolyte Ledee, who, along with businessman Norman Chester Wathey, founded Winair in 1961. What initially started as a private venture to provide essential air connectivity between the Windward Islands, the Government of the Netherlands Antilles acquired the airline in 1976. After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 -10 -2010 both the Country of St. Maarten and the Netherlands became stakeholders with respectively 92.05 % and 7.95% stakes in the company.
Over its lifetime, Winair has weathered significant adversities, including Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the COVID-19 pandemic, and several economic recessions. Notwithstanding all these challenges, Winair managed to become a profitable airline and the fleet now comprises nine aircraft, both De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and ATR42-500 aircraft. Over its sixty-five years of existence, Winair has never had an accident or major incident. This achievement didn’t come for free but was the result of great dedication, commitment, and hard work of the whole Winair family. The company provides employment for about 280 employees and, with that number, one of the biggest employers on the island.
The growth and success of Winair could not have been achieved without the support of its main hub, Princess Juliana International Airport. Whereas the airport has had its own challenges over all these years, the completely renovated airport was re-opened by Princess Beatrix in November 2024. While it took 7 years to bring the airport up to standard, the renewed airport can be considered as one of the best and modern in the region. Over 1.8 million passengers found their way through the airport in 2025. Most passengers are US citizens and US carriers are the biggest users of the airport. At the same time, it has to be realised that Winair takes by far the majority number of available take-off and landings on a yearly basis. With 350 employees, PJIA is also a player of importance in the St. Maarten labour market.
Both aviation entities rely on and have a close relationship with the Civil Aviation Authority of St. Maarten, which provides safety oversight over the aviation industry of St. Maarten. The minister of TEATT is politically responsible for ensuring that the oversight is in conformity with the international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization under the Chicago Convention. In 2010, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted an audit of the Netherlands Antilles, as uncertainties had arisen regarding the allocation of responsibilities following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The FAA is mandated by the US congress for its actions towards third countries in order to protect US citizens.
The FAA came to the final verdict that the safety oversight of Curaçao and St. Maarten was below international standards and, therefore, no carrier from St. Maarten or Curaçao could provide commercial aviation services to and from the US, neither with its own equipment nor with dry leased aircraft.
Luckily enough, the above does not mean that US carriers are not allowed to provide services to and from St. Maarten. They can, and over all these years the number of destinations and frequencies have increased substantially. On the other hand, it hampers the development of the national carrier of St. Maarten to fly, as an example, to San Juan, being US territory. It also hampers Winair to enter into code share arrangements with US carriers enabling seamless travel for connecting passengers. This in turn limits the capabilities of the airport to function as a hub airport in the Caribbean, thus expanding its scope for growth. The negative economic consequences of these limitations should not be underestimated.
Whereas both Winair and the airport have found their way up, although at different speeds since 2010, the aviation oversight authority of St. Maarten (SMCAA) has stayed behind. Sixteen (16) years after the dissolving of the Netherlands Antilles, only incremental steps have been made to comply with international standards. The lack of adequate housing, a shortage of qualified personnel, insufficient financial resources to perform its mandated functions, outdated legislation and regulations, and inadequate procedures have hampered the healthy and sustainable development of the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority. It seems that complying with international standards has little political priority.
As a result, the SMCAA has been unable to develop in a direction in line with the growth and achievements of the national aviation industry, to fully meet its international obligations and to effectively fulfil its responsibilities within the constitutional framework of the Kingdom as established by the Statute.
In my opinion, the Government of St. Maarten needs to take decisive actions to strengthen the institutional capacity of the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority, modernise the applicable legislative and regulatory framework, and ensure that adequate financial and human resources are made available to effectively discharge its responsibilities under the ICAO convention. Such measures are essential not only to support the continued growth of the national aviation sector and tourism ambitions, but also to ensure compliance with international obligations and the current aviation safety standards.
It is imperative that these challenges need to be addressed without further delay. Failure to do so may increase the risk of deficiencies in aviation safety oversight, with potentially serious consequences. It is therefore to be hoped that no major aviation incident or accident will occur because of inadequate regulatory oversight, particularly given St. Maarten’s significance as an international aviation gateway serving large numbers of foreign visitors, including citizens of the United States.
To end on a somewhat positive note. It has been reported that PJIA recently transferred an amount of Naf 3 mil to the Ministry of Finance. A fee it collected from passengers as a security fee in order to enable SMCAA to carry out its primary duties. Let us hope it will not be used to fill the gaps in the country’s deficits.
Hans de Jong
Former Member Winair Supervisory Board
Former Director General Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority
