AIRPORT--Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) has drawn widespread international praise for its swift and professional response to the September 7 WestJet accident. What could have been a tragedy instead became a demonstration of coordination, training, and resilience, as emergency crews and airport staff executed their duties well, with as expected, some learning experiences mixed in.
The incident, which saw a WestJet Boeing 737’s landing gear collapse upon arrival, was carried extensively by international media. Major outlets including, but not limited to, CNN, FOX News, Reuters, Associated Press, CBC, CTV, Global News, Aviation Herald, FlightGlobal, Jamaica Observer, Caribbean Loop, Skies Magazine, Caribbean Journal, TravelPulse, and Simple Flying all ran stories on the accident.
While many of these reports highlighted the mechanical failure and accident itself, they also found space to mention the professionalism and speed of PJIA’s emergency response. Numerous additional outlets worldwide carried the story, further amplifying St. Maarten’s handling of the situation. One CBS affiliate noted that "𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦".
The rapid deployment of PJIA’s emergency teams was mentioned, as well as other related details such as foam being quickly applied to the runway, and the evacuation being managed in a controlled manner. Aviation observers pointed to the professionalism of airport firefighters, handlers, and support staff as a decisive factor in. Juliana Airport Handlers is the handling company for WestJet.
It was noted that the incident demonstrated how smaller airports can indeed deliver textbook emergency management when properly prepared. The presence and comments of Prime Minister Luc Mercelina and Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten was also mentioned, framing the handling of the incident by the emergency crews and PJIA personnel as a point of national pride.
The commendation was not limited to media reports. PJIA's Facebook age for example, and that of other media outlets, lit up with hundreds of comments praising PJIA’s staff and management for their rapid communication and effective action.
“𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘪𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 – 𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥,” 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦.
𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥: “𝘒𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘙 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘑𝘐𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!”
𝘋𝘦𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥: “𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺-𝘣𝘺-𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦!”
𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘩𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺: “𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!!”
The consistent theme across these responses was gratitude and admiration, not only for the airport’s emergency response crews, but also for PJIA's communications team who kept the public informed throughout the ordeal.
The airport is now open for normal operations. PJIAE CEO Michael Cleaver said: "Our teams did very well. We can be proud of them." It appears that the world agrees.
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