St. Barthélemy: the steep approach over the hill and spots on the beach

A traffic circle on a hilltop, above it a Twin Otter skimming so low over the car roofs that you could count the rivets – and then it tips forward and almost plunges onto a runway that ends in the sand after a few hundred meters. Plane spotting on St. Barthélemy isn’t spotting for jumbo fans, but for everyone who wants to experience aviation in the tightest of spaces. This guide shows you how the airport works, where to stand, when the light is right and what you absolutely must respect on the island.

St. Barth in brief

St. Barthélemy, St. Barth or St. Barts for short, is a small island in the Lesser Antilles and has been a separate French overseas collectivity since 2007. It covers about 25 square kilometers, the main town is Gustavia, and the currency is the euro. The name of the main town and the airport’s former name recall the Swedish era: in 1784 the island passed to Sweden under King Gustav III, and in 1878 it returned to France.

The airport is in the Saint-Jean district, only a few kilometers from Gustavia. For a long time it was called Gustaf III; since 2015 it has carried the name Aéroport de Saint-Barthélemy-Rémy-de-Haenen. Rémy de Haenen was a Caribbean aviation pioneer who in 1946 was the first to land on what was then a sheep pasture and later became the island’s mayor. The operator is the island’s territorial collectivity.

Small doesn’t mean quiet here. According to published traffic figures, the airport handled around 219,000 passengers and over 44,000 movements in 2022 – an enormous density for an island with just over 10,000 residents. On peak days in high season, such as right after New Year, more than 300 movements have been counted in a single day. In high season between Christmas and spring in particular, there is plenty going on.

Why the approach is so special

The runway is wedged between a steep ridge in the west and Baie de Saint-Jean in the east. That results in two very different runway ends:

• Runway 10 (landing from the west): Aircraft come from the west and have to cross the Col de la Tourmente, a pass with a traffic circle on its crest. They clear the hill only narrowly and then drop into an unusually steep descent to touch down in time on the short strip.
• Runway 28 (landing from the east): Here aircraft come in over the sea and the beach. The approach is more open, but the obstacle is now at the far end: takeoffs from 28 toward the hill are generally not planned.

Between 2003 and 2005 the crest was cut down somewhat and the road was rerouted so that car traffic no longer lies quite so directly under the approach line. The approach has remained spectacular all the same. A TV documentary once ranked the airport third among the most dangerous airports in the world. Experts take a much more sober view: precisely because the airport is so demanding, strict rules apply, and operations are considered safe.

Who is allowed to land here

Two rules shape the traffic picture on St. Barth:

• Only small aircraft: Only small, light aircraft are approved – mostly with fewer than 20 seats. The largest type ever allowed to fly here was the De Havilland Canada Dash 7. A lightly loaded Douglas DC-3 is also documented.
• Only with briefing: Pilots need special training or authorization before they may take off and land at St. Barth.

What traffic to expect

If you know Maho Beach, you have to rethink on St. Barth. Instead of widebody jets, turboprops and piston engines with mostly under 20 seats dominate here. How to tell similar propeller aircraft apart is shown in the guide Telling turboprops apart. Typical are:

• DHC-6 Twin Otter: The classic of the Caribbean island hoppers from De Havilland Canada, rugged, short-takeoff capable and, as a high-wing aircraft over the hill, a perfect subject.
• Cessna 208 Caravan: Single-engine turboprop, seen on St. Barth mainly in the Grand Caravan version.
• Pilatus PC-12: The Swiss single-engine turboprop from Pilatus turns up here especially on shuttle and charter services.
• Britten-Norman Islander: Small piston-engine twin, at home on short island runways for decades.
• Helicopters and private aircraft: From island helicopters to the light aircraft of villa guests. Tips for rotorcraft are in the guide Spotting helicopters.

For operators it is worth checking the current schedules, because the list keeps changing. The most recently published overviews include St Barth Commuter, Winair from Sint Maarten, Air Antilles from Guadeloupe, Tradewind Aviation, St Barth Executive and Cape Air, plus helicopter and charter providers as well as freight flights. Destinations are mainly Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Anguilla, Saba, and San Juan and St. Thomas.

Wind and runway direction in use

St. Barth lies in the middle of the trade wind belt. The wind there blows mostly from easterly directions, and because aircraft land into the wind, the approach over the Col de la Tourmente to runway 10 is the normal case. Takeoffs are usually also on 10, that is, toward the east over Saint-Jean beach and out to sea. Takeoffs from 28 into the hill are not planned anyway.

For you as a spotter that means: on a typical trade wind day you see landings at the hill and takeoffs at the beach at the same time. If the wind shifts, aircraft land over the water on 28 – then the beach becomes the landing spot and the hill loses its appeal. How wind and runway choice relate in general is explained in the guide Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport. Gusts and crosswind make the approaches over the crest even livelier, by the way – more on that in the article on crosswind landings.

Spot 1: Col de la Tourmente

The best-known position is the area at the Col de la Tourmente above the western runway end. Here aircraft come over the crest on their way to runway 10, and depending on where you stand on the slope you see them fly in at eye level or sink down onto the runway from above. The shot that made St. Barth famous – aircraft just above the traffic circle and the cars – is taken right here.

What to keep in mind at the Col:

• Traffic comes first: The traffic circle is an ordinary road junction with cars, scooters and pedestrians. Don’t stand on the roadway or in side-road entrances, even if the perspective tempts you.
• Little room: Sidewalks and pull-offs are scarce. Park only where it is expressly allowed and don’t block driveways.
• A short focal length is enough: The aircraft are so close that you get along fine with a standard zoom. A wide-angle helps for shots with the traffic circle, bay and aircraft in the same frame. More in the guide to the right focal length.
• A fast camera: Only seconds pass between appearing behind the ridge and disappearing behind the slope. Burst mode and fast shutter speeds are a must.

Spot 2: Saint-Jean beach

At the eastern end the runway runs out directly onto Saint-Jean beach. On takeoffs from 10, aircraft pass over the runway end, over the sand and then out over the bay – with turquoise water as the backdrop. If traffic lands on 28 when the wind shifts, aircraft come in over you from the sea.

The beach is public but lies directly in the departure path. Signs at the runway end say you should not lie down there. Take the warnings seriously and keep your distance from the fence – propeller wash, whirled-up sand and low-flying aircraft are not scenery but real flight operations. How to behave at fences and in approach paths in general is summed up in Is plane spotting allowed?

Light and time of day

St. Barth lies at just under 18 degrees north latitude. The sun stands very high there at midday, in high summer at times even slightly north of the zenith. For aircraft photos that means: the midday hours deliver harsh light and dark fuselage undersides, while morning and afternoon are much more rewarding.

The runway axis helps with the basic direction: runway 10/28 runs roughly from west to east.

• At the Col you look east for shots toward the runway. Then the sun is behind you in the afternoon. If you want to see the aircraft coming head-on over the crest, you look west toward Gustavia – that works better in the morning.
• At the beach you look west toward the runway and have the sun behind you in the morning. In the late afternoon you shoot into the light there, which can be quite appealing for silhouettes over the water.

These are rules of thumb that vary depending on your exact position on the slope. The logic behind them is shown in the guide Planning around sun position.

Getting there: via Sint Maarten to St. Barth

Large airliners can’t fly to St. Barth, so getting there almost always goes through a connecting airport. By far the most important is Sint Maarten: a large share of passengers come via Princess Juliana Airport, others via San Juan in Puerto Rico and via Guadeloupe. Ferries also run to Gustavia from Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin.

For spotters this is a stroke of luck, because Princess Juliana is itself a must-visit. At Maho Beach the long-haul jets thunder low over the beach – and on St. Barth the exact opposite follows in miniature. If you combine both on one trip, you experience the full range of Caribbean aviation. You will find planning tips in the guide Plane spotting on vacation, and how to take camera and lenses safely on a small island hopper is covered in the article Camera gear in carry-on luggage.

St. Barth compared with other extreme spots

St. Barth belongs in a line with the airfields that spotters visit for their location and not their traffic volume. A few comparisons:

Spot	Special feature	Traffic
St. Barthélemy	Steep approach over hill and traffic circle, runway ends at the beach	Turboprops and light aircraft
Maho Beach, Sint Maarten	Low approaches right over the swimming beach	Narrowbody and widebody jets, regional traffic
Gibraltar	Road crosses the runway	Narrowbody jets
Barra, Scotland	Landings right on the beach	Twin Otter on scheduled service
Lukla, Nepal	Short, sloping mountain runway	Small turboprops
Courchevel	Steep altiport runway in the Alps	Light aircraft and helicopters

More destinations of this kind are collected in the bucket list of spotting spots worldwide.

What to keep in mind

• Respect for the island: St. Barth is small, the roads are narrow. Position yourself so that you obstruct neither drivers nor residents.
• The roadway stays a roadway: No photo is worth stepping onto the road at the traffic circle. The aircraft come in low, and the cars are fast too.
• Departure path at the beach: Follow the signs at the runway end and don’t lie directly in the extension of the runway.
• No drones: Approaches are made at very low altitude over a populated area. A drone near the airport is taboo – the article Drones at airports explains why.
• Check facts beforehand: Airlines, routes and flight times on St. Barth change more often than at big airports. Look at the current schedules before your trip.

Conclusion

St. Barthélemy is the counter-program to the big hubs: a runway just 646 meters long, a hill with a traffic circle in front of it, a beach behind it and a traffic picture of Twin Otters, Caravans, PC-12s and Islanders. With the usual east wind, landings come in steeply over the Col de la Tourmente, and takeoffs pull away over Saint-Jean Bay. If you bring respect for the road, residents and departure path, you experience one of the most impressive light-aircraft stages in the world here – best combined with a side trip to Maho Beach.