Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (July 4, 2021)–With nearly 4,800 passenger movements at the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on Saturday, the abrupt power outages bought challenges to traffic flow and on-flight schedules as supported by the Airport’s Operations Department.

Following a sequence of power outages which began after 2:00 pm, the electricity grid went on and off and the Airport also experienced its interruptions. The instability resulted in a systematic lock-down of the Airport’s backup system. The Airport’s system is protected and is programmed to avoid the damaging of its sensitive equipment downstream, therefore it locks down after a few consecutive switches.

Stabilize

Based on the occurrences PJIAE N.V. has decided to run the operations on its generators for the upcoming days. “Our commitment remains to our passengers and Airport community alike. PJIAE N.V. wants to ensure that we enhance the safety of the traveling public and the continued operations. We are working with N.V. GEBE to harmonize our efforts to provide consistent power to the terminal building,” summarized PJIAE CEO Brian Mingo.