Baggage Screening System Down at Airport

As reported in the SXM Daily Herald, the x-ray baggage screening system has been down for three days now. Some passengers had to leave their luggage behind when they departed Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) Tuesday. Baggage had to be lugged to the airport employee screening area for security checks and clearance. However, this contingency arrangement could not cope fast enough with the large number of bags that had to be processed and many passengers were left without some, or all, of their luggage. Flights were not delayed because of the scanning problem, but the schedules were maintained at the expense of passenger luggage. No official word was received from the airport Tuesday about when the problem would be fixed. In the meantime, luggage continues to pile up. PJIA director of operations Larry Donker said in a press statement Monday that the technical department in cooperation with the maintenance provider of the hold baggage system was working to resolve the problem.

Fireman at Airport Ordered Back to Work

As reported by the St Maarten Daily Herald, 18 firefighters have called in sick and have not reported to work at the airport since Monday. It is thought that this is in protest against a fireman who was recently fired for not carrying out an instruction. The court ordered the firefighters to return to work today, June 22, or face a fine. If they do not return, the airport may be forced to close until the issue is resolved.

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Video: Near Miss -- Two 747s Nearly Collide at Princess Juliana Airport

Late last year, many people at the Sunset Beach Bar watched as a Corsair Airlines 747, ready to take off from Princess Juliana Airport, almost collided with a KLM 747 that was ready to land. The Corsair pilot didn’t see the approaching KLM 747 and taxied the fully loaded plane onto the runway. Meanwhile, several hundred yards behind him, the KLM 747 was getting ready to land. Fortunately, the KLM pilot saw the Corsair jet sitting on the runway, gunned the plane’s engines, and banked sharply right over the airport.

Due to the following video, taken by a tourist, a full investigation will take place.

Watch the video here.