Maho Beach at Princess Juliana International Airport

Updated: October 2026 – There are spots only spotters know, and then there is Maho Beach. The picture of a widebody jet heading for the runway just meters above sunbathers has been shared so often that even people who have never read a flight schedule know it. The small beach on the Caribbean island of St. Martin lies right at the west end of the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport – and that is exactly where the aircraft begin their final approach.

This page explains what realistically happens at the beach, what time of day is worth the trip, how to get the light under control and why you have to take the warning signs at the fence literally.

An island airport with a single runway

Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) is the main airport of the island of St. Martin, which the Netherlands (Sint Maarten) and France (Saint-Martin) share. It lies on the Dutch side between Simpson Bay Lagoon and the open sea, just a few meters above sea level. It originated in World War II as a US military airfield and was named after the later Dutch queen Juliana.

One number matters for you as a spotter: there is only one runway, 10/28, about 2,300 meters long. That is tight for widebody aircraft, and the west end of the runway is so close to the beach that aircraft cross Maho Beach on final approach less than 30 meters high. Between the two there is only a road and the fence.

According to reference sources, the airport handled about 1.8 million passengers and a good 64,000 aircraft movements in 2025. That sounds like a lot, but it is spread across many small propeller aircraft, because SXM is also the hub for the surrounding islands such as Saba, Sint Eustatius, Anguilla and St. Barthélemy.

A turning point was Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Among other things, the storm tore the roof off the terminal and caused severe damage; from October 2017, scheduled service ran through temporary facilities. Reconstruction was not completed until 2024: the departure hall opened in January, the arrival hall in October, and in November 2024 the airport was officially put back into operation. The beach itself has also changed its appearance several times in the storms of recent decades.

Runway direction in use: why landings almost always come in over the beach

Aircraft land into the wind. On St. Martin the trade winds blow mostly from the east, so operation almost always runs on runway 10: aircraft come in from the west over the sea, cross Maho Beach and touch down shortly after. Takeoffs are also toward the east, that is, from the start of the runway right behind the beach.

That makes Maho Beach one of the most predictable spots of all. At many airports the wind decides whether you see anything at all. Here the problem is more the number of movements than the direction.

Configuration	What you see at the beach	How often	Recommendation
Landing and takeoff on 10	Approaches directly over you, takeoffs with jet blast in front of the beach	Normal case with trade winds	Beach is the first choice, keep your distance on takeoffs
Landing and takeoff on 28	Departing aircraft climb out over the sea, landings come from the other side	rare, in westerly winds	Beach is only worth it for departures, lower your expectations
Tropical storm or hurricane	Airport restricted or closed	possible during hurricane season	Travel and safety come first

How runway numbers come about and why 10 points east is explained in the article Runway designations at airports. If you want to check the wind situation before your beach day, Reading METAR and TAF gives you the tools you need.

When the beach is worth it

The most important expectation check first: at Maho Beach a jet does not land every few minutes. Over large parts of the day mainly turboprops and small propeller aircraft on the island connections come in. The big aircraft from North America and Europe cluster in a window from about midday into the afternoon local time.

For your beach day that means: plan three to four hours and time them so that the long-haul flights from Europe and the US jets fall into your window. Visitor reports describe that in the morning at times no jet was on the ground or on approach at all, while arrivals pile up in the early afternoon. Departures are also often delayed – if you want to see a particular takeoff, bring time.

Seasonally, the northern hemisphere’s winter season is the most productive time. Then more airlines fly in from the US and Canada, some connections operate only seasonally, and the Europe flights are also more frequent. Summer and fall are quieter, and the Atlantic hurricane season also falls in those months.

What you get to see on Sint Maarten

The traffic picture is a mix of long-haul, North American vacation traffic and island hoppers. Which types exactly fly changes with season and fleet planning – take the following overview as guidance, as of October 2026, and check the details before your trip.

• Europe: KLM connects Sint Maarten with Amsterdam Schiphol, Air France flies from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Air Caraïbes from Paris Orly. Both big network airlines belong to Air France-KLM and to SkyTeam. After the end of the 747 era, KLM initially used the Airbus A330-200; according to reference sources, A330s and Boeing 787s now alternate; the flight tracker tells you which type flies on your day.
• USA: American Airlines comes from Miami, Charlotte and Philadelphia, among others, Delta Air Lines from Atlanta and New York JFK, United Airlines from Newark and seasonally from other hubs. JetBlue, Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country come as well. Typical are narrowbody jets such as the Boeing 737-800, the Boeing 757-200 and the Airbus family with the A320 and A321.
• Canada: Air Canada and WestJet fly from Toronto and Montréal, Air Transat seasonally.
• Caribbean and Latin America: Copa from Panama, Caribbean Airlines, Arajet and other carriers bring additional jets and turboprops.
• Island hoppers: Winair is based at SXM and serves numerous neighboring islands, including Saba with its famously short runway. The DHC-6 Twin Otter is at home on such routes. Smaller airlines connect SXM with St. Barthélemy, Anguilla and Antigua.

The era of the Boeing 747 is history at Maho Beach. KLM sent its last scheduled 747 to the island in late October 2016 – ending the period from which most of the iconic photos come. If you are interested in the history of the jumbo, you will find it in The history of the Boeing 747; the type itself is presented on the page for the Boeing 747-400. Now and then charter or special flights with unusual types come – such guests usually announce themselves in spotter forums and on flight trackers.

Light and photography

Maho Beach lies west of the start of the runway. Arriving aircraft therefore come toward you from the west over the sea. That gives the spot its light dilemma:

• Morning: The sun is in the east, so behind you when you shoot approaches over the sea. The light is ideal, but jets are missing.
• Midday: In the tropics the sun is very high. Fuselages are lit harshly from above, undersides are dark – but the jet window begins.
• Afternoon: Most widebody jets land, but the sun moves west and thus into your subject. Head-on shots on approach end up in backlight.

In the afternoon you have two good options. Either you use the backlight deliberately for silhouettes, highlights on the water and atmospheric shots with a crowd. Or you turn around and photograph the aircraft after it has passed over you – then you have the sun at your back and the underside with landing gear in the frame. How to use backlight creatively is explained in Backlight in aircraft photography; how to calculate the sun position in advance, in the article Planning the sun position at a photo spot.

When it comes to focal length, Maho Beach is an exception: because the aircraft are so close, you need less telephoto than at almost any other airport. For the classic picture with beach, people and aircraft, a wide-angle or standard zoom is enough; for approaches over the water, a moderate telephoto. A super-telephoto is more in the way at the decisive moment. More in the guide Which lens for plane spotting?; the matching exposure values are in Camera settings for plane spotting.

Many visitors film instead of photographing – the flyover lasts only seconds, and the sound is part of the experience. Tips for clean clips are in Shooting plane spotting videos. Protect your camera from sand and salt water, because quite a lot flies through the air during flyovers and takeoffs.

Jet blast: the serious side of the beach

As relaxed as the beach seems, it has a life-threatening side. Departing aircraft taxi to the west end of the runway, right behind the beach, turn onto the runway and apply thrust. The blast is especially strong when an aircraft stops at the start of the runway and then spools up the engines. The jet blast then hits the road and the beach unchecked: it whips up sand and stones, blows towels and bags into the sea and can knock people over.

Some visitors seek out exactly this thrill and hold on to the fence to be “blown away.” In July 2017 this ended fatally: a tourist from New Zealand was ripped off the fence by the blast of a departing jet and hit her head on concrete. Since then an additional fence stands behind the end of runway 10 that keeps visitors away from the main fence, and the authorities explicitly warn of serious to fatal injuries.

With landings the situation is different: on approach the engines run at much less thrust than on takeoff, and the exhaust points backward toward the runway. You still feel the airflow and the turbulence, and sand occasionally flies here too. With a few meters of distance from the road you are on the safe side. Why powerful air vortices form behind large aircraft is explained in the article Wake turbulence and separation.

Getting there and infrastructure

The biggest hurdle is getting to the island. From German-speaking countries you reach Sint Maarten most easily via Amsterdam with KLM or via Paris with Air France and Air Caraïbes. Alternatively, connections run via the US. For spotters this has a bonus: on the outbound flight you can already fit in a spotting day at Schiphol or Charles de Gaulle, for example at the Spotterplaats at the Polderbaan.

On site it is then straightforward. Maho Beach is only a few minutes by car from the terminal; if you have a long layover at the airport, visitor reports say you can also make it on foot. Many visitors come by rental car, taxi or from the hotels nearby. There is parking at the bars, where fees may apply in high season.

At both ends of the beach there are beach bars: the Sunset Bar and Grill in the south and the Driftwood Bar in the north. Both post the expected arrivals of the big jets, offer drinks, food and shade and, according to visitor reports, usually Wi-Fi for guests. Since these are private businesses, check opening hours and terms on site.

How a good day at Maho Beach goes

Side trips on the island and in the region

If you are already on St. Martin, you can extend your spotting day. On the French side of the island, Grand Case Airport is a small field for regional traffic. And from SXM the island hoppers depart for St. Barthélemy, whose short runway behind a hill is also a legend among spotters, and for Saba with one of the shortest commercial runways in the world. Whether and how you can spot there is best clarified on site.

Maho Beach is at the top of almost every spotter’s wish list – which other destinations belong on it is shown by the bucket list of spotting spots worldwide. The European answer to the Caribbean beach is the runway end at Skiathos Airport, where charter jets glide low over the road and beach in summer. You also stand directly under the approach at Playa Honda on Lanzarote, at Myrtle Avenue at London Heathrow and – with a burger in your hand – at In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles.

Being considerate at the beach

Maho Beach is not purely a spotter spot but a swimming beach with tourists, locals and restaurants. Keep the access to the road clear, leave no trash behind and remember that the bars are private businesses that live off their guests. If you sit at a table with the best view, order something.

Consideration also applies photographically: many people on the beach are on vacation and do not want to be the main subject without being asked. For pictures with a crowd, wide shots and silhouettes work better than close-ups of individual people.

Conclusion

Maho Beach is an experience no other spot offers in this form: a jet gliding toward the runway just meters above a Caribbean beach stays in your mind. At the same time, the beach is not a place for type collectors who want nonstop operations. The number of jets is modest, the best light does not match the densest traffic, and the time of the 747 is over.

If you come with realistic expectations, keep an eye on the schedule and respect the jet blast, you will still have one of the finest spotting days there is – and combine it with sun, sea and a drink at the beach bar.