Badly hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, Caribbean island St Maarten has worked hard since to restore its natural beauty. The Island's ambitions though do not stop at recovery.  The Princess Juliana international airport has chosen to rely on Thales to reinforce its position as the air transport hub for the eastern Caribbean, and to serve the needs of the entire region.

In August and September of last year, the passage of several hurricanes caused extreme damage to a number of Caribbean islands. One of them, St Maarten, was particularly badly struck. Alongside other infrastructure, the primary means of transportation to and from the island - the Princess Juliana international airport – suffered significant damage, with part of the terminal being destroyed, as well as the air traffic management equipment located along the runway and in the control tower.
 

Shortly after the hurricanes, the St Maarten air authorities asked Thales to assess the state of the ATM systems impacted and help reestablish the air traffic management capabilities in the region. A team of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance experts from Thales were dispatched to the site at the end of October to establish the first diagnostic and an ATM Sales Manager was also on hand to provide recommendations for new replacement systems.

The Thales teams loaned and installed a temporary flight plan system and trained air traffic control teams on the new system, enabling the island to get this vital piece of infrastructure up and running again. The St Maarten air authorities though had the ambition to go one step further; to position the island as a major regional air transport hub. To meet this ambition, the SXM Princess Juliana International Airport decided to deploy the most advanced ATM systems on the market.

All of our customers have big ambitions but it's rare to see the determination and vision displayed by SXM Princess Juliana International Airport

“All of our customers have big ambitions but it's rare to see the determination and vision displayed by SXM Princess Juliana International Airport,” underlined Jean Marc Alias, Thales Vice President, Air Traffic Management Operations. “We are honoured to be chosen to help them in their ambition to go beyond restoring their country and to reaffirm their position as regional hub for air transport. Thales pledges to do whatever it takes to help Saint Martin accomplish this mission.”

Deployed in a record 7 months

The programme, which will be deployed in a record 7 months, will see the implementation of the TopSky-ATC and STAR NG primary radar co-mounted with the Thales RSM970S secondary radar. This will provide controllers with the latest in automation and radar technologies, and be instrumental in bringing back more airline traffic, as Saint Martin and its neighboring islands recover from the damage caused by the hurricanes and once again start welcoming holidaymakers.

After the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Aruba, St Maarten becomes the fourth user of TopSky ATC in the Caribbean region. With over 200 radars and 30 air traffic control centers in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay and as well as navigation aids (Navaids) systems in operation in nearly all the countries of the region, Thales confirms its strong leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean.