The popular tourist island of St. Maarten cannot expect commercial flights to begin for at least the next two weeks and maybe as long as six, some travelers are being told. Airlines that usually provide service into the island include American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta, Air France, WestJet and KLM.
Still there is a lot of work to do at Princess Juliana International Airport. When the curfew was lifted in St. Maarten on Sunday, local photographer and plane spotter Chris Garner, set out to photograph the damage. She was startled to see a KLM Boeing 747 flying low over the island's famous Maho Beach.
The big blue jumbo jet has been flying into the resort community for so long it is practically a symbol of St. Maarten and many locals and tourists were dismayed when the Dutch carrier replaced the 747 with a smaller jetliner last fall. So Garner was heartened by the sight.
Getting a shot of the Queen of the Sky back over the island, "made my day and made it all worth while to be living here," she said in an email during a brief window when she could upload messages and photos she'd captured.
During her travels around the airport, Garner saw devastating damage at the nearby Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and the casino across the street. She snapped photos of palm trees snapped in two and piles of debris, already swept into heaps ready to be hauled away.
The airport fence was blown down. Garner noted pieces being put back in place. "Most of the damage is with the roof of the airport," she said. After noting that Irma turned the area into a war zone and that media stories of bad behavior were overstated, Garner said, "The people here are extremely positive and we will rebuild and make St. Maarten better than ever."
"The strides they have made is absolutely amazing," she added.
KLM's 747 was loaded with relief supplies when it arrived Sunday and when it departed for Aruba, it carried visitors and others stranded by the storm. The airplane had seats for 268.
"The islands of the Caribbean are very special to KLM. They hold a place close to our hearts," said, airline president Pieter Elbers in a statement posted on the airline website. "Our crews are always welcomed with great hospitality. Our thoughts therefore go out to the people of St Maarten and we will do our utmost to help where we can."
Like other airlines that fly into this aviation mecca, KLM is still unsure when regular flights will resume. Right now, the airport is beat up on the outside and looks like the United Nations on the inside with "help arriving from everywhere", Garner said. No matter what aircraft brought this help to the battered island, that's got to be a welcome sight.
