TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Runway to be extended at Grand Case airport

Daily Herald story It almost sounds like to me that this extension is just so private jets can land in Grand Case, but maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Carol I think you're partially right, mostly private jets but there was also something stated about charter flights to other islands and a fact that if they allow night landings & takeoffs people won't have to stay overnight elsewhere to catch flight back to SXM. They'll do it in same day. Sounds like business people.

But that photo looks like ext is very close to the rotary at Cul de Sac. And what happens to the road to Grand Case at the far end, to hotels, one on hill & GCBC. If you can't go in that way and the road near water is one way, what happens? I can remember when that road was two ways and a horror show. Can remember being pressed up against a wall with all the 2 way traffic. Don't want that again. Maybe a change to the road near the school to come in by Spiga?

I don't know on the road, other than the story does mention that the road will have to be re-routed.

In looking at the drawing, the road will be relocated to come in where the roundabout is.

Hope they widen the new road!

The road always left that cup de sac. It's the road that is taken by the extension marked in green that I'm wondering about. In the drawing the ext cuts right through it and I doubt they plan to recess it and have the runway ext go over it.

I also see the new access road leave the top of the rotary and go round the fence of the extension, where it will meet up with the original road above where the yellow/green of the runway extension starts. The multiple red lines above the runway extension is where they will relocate the original road that the extension will be cutting off.

Runway length and/or the presence of an instrument landing system (ils) with glideslope are often dictated by insurance companies as to whether private jets are covered. I love airplanes, and like to see the few that takeoff when
N on orient, but not sure I want to see a steady stream of gulf streams and falcon jets from France.

Might change the dinner ambiance.

Not sure if this had any influence on their plans but at Christmas SXM had over 100 private jets come onto the island.....they ran out of places to park them. Maybe GC could have taken some of them?

That's correct, that's at least part of the thinking, as often there is no parking left for private jets at the holidays.

Daily Herald story Apparently the deal is not yet done to purchase the land, talks continue.