Is the St. Barts airport landing dangerous?

The St. Barts airport landing is not dangerous on a scheduled flight, though it is one of the steepest and shortest approaches in the Caribbean. Planes drop over a hilltop roundabout at Col de la Tourmente, then touch down on a runway of roughly 650 meters that ends at St. Jean beach. Commercial jets cannot use it. Only small propeller planes such as the nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravan fly in, and pilots need special certification before they may land there. St Barth Commuter and Winair make the 15-minute hop from St. Maarten (SXM) many times a day, year-round.

It looks alarming from the beach. From the cabin it is over in seconds. Nervous flyers have two ways around it: the ferry from St. Martin, about an hour, or a charter that boards in St. Martin and arrives in Gustavia by sea. The St. Barts yacht charter itinerary sets out the SXM connection step by step.