Flights from St Maarten to St Barts (SXM to SBH): Airlines, Flight Time, Luggage and the Sunset Rule
Short answer: two airlines fly scheduled from Princess Juliana (SXM) to St Barts (SBH), Winair and St Barth Commuter, in about 15 minutes in the air. Tradewind Aviation reaches St Barts from San Juan and Antigua, not from Sint Maarten, where it flies private charter only. Every flight lands before sunset, luggage is tightly capped, and if your long-haul lands late the plane has gone. A private boat covers the same crossing in about 40 minutes, after dark, with all your bags. For the full picture of ferry, flight, helicopter and boat, start with every option compared.
Who flies from SXM to SBH
Three names come up when you search for a flight from St Maarten to St Barths, and only two of them actually leave from Sint Maarten.
- Winair, the regional airline of Sint Maarten. Multiple daily rotations to St Barts, IATA-coded, so the flight can sit on the same ticket as your long-haul and is bookable like any normal airline. Details at winair.sx.
- St Barth Commuter, the St Barts-based operator. Privately held, scheduled rotations plus a flexible hand with charter slots. See fly-stbarth.com.
- Tradewind Aviation is often listed for this route, but its scheduled St Barth service runs from San Juan and Antigua, not from Sint Maarten. Out of SXM it is private charter only.
The airport on the St Barts side is Gustavia airport, also called Rémy de Haenen, in Saint-Jean. It is not in Gustavia itself: from the runway you still need a taxi to your villa or hotel, and there is no Uber in St Barts.
How long the flight takes, and the landing
About 15 minutes in the air. The approach is the famous part: a steep dive over the hill at Col de la Tourmente, then a short-runway landing on the beach side. It is worth doing once just for the view, and it is also why the airport works the way it does. The runway has no lighting, so St Barts accepts no night landings at all, on either runway.
Count the whole thing, not just the air time. Checking in at SXM for a small aircraft, the rotation itself, collecting bags at SBH, then the taxi across the island: a midday SXM arrival connects comfortably, a late-afternoon one often does not.
Luggage on the SXM to SBH flight
This is where most plans go wrong. The aircraft are small, and luggage is capped by size and by cabin weight rather than by a generous checked allowance:
- 23 kg (50 lb) checked, with a 62-inch total-dimension limit
- 6 to 12 kg of cabin baggage, depending on the airline
- Heavier or oversized bags fly on space availability only, for a fee, which in practice means a full aircraft can push your suitcase onto a later rotation
- Weight-and-balance can shuffle passengers between flights on a busy day
Golf bags, surfboards and a family’s worth of suitcases do not sit well with those rules. Many groups fly light and send the rest by boat, or skip the flight and put everyone and everything on the boat together.
The sunset rule
Last flights land before sunset, every day of the year, because the runway has no lighting. Helicopters stop at the same time. After about 6 PM every scheduled option to St Barts is finished, and the last ferries have gone too: Philipsburg around 5:30 PM, Marigot around 6:55 PM.
If your international flight into SXM lands at 5 PM, the connection is tight. If it lands at 7 PM, there is no flight to St Barts tonight. The honest choices are a night in Sint Maarten and a first rotation in the morning, or a private boat, which is not bound by the airport curfew and crosses in the dark.
Charter flights from SXM to SBH
A chartered aircraft, rather than a seat on a scheduled rotation, is what most private-jet arrivals look for. St Barth Commuter is the flexible one on charter slots. Tradewind Aviation flies SXM to SBH as private charter only. The other charter option is the helicopter: about 10 minutes, chartered by the aircraft rather than by the seat, daylight only, operators run roughly 7 AM to 6 PM, with the option of departing from the FBO at Princess Juliana so you step off your jet and onto the helicopter. Luggage is weight-restricted on a helicopter too, and most groups send checked bags separately by boat.
None of this changes the sunset rule. A chartered plane and a chartered helicopter both stop when the light goes.
Flight or boat: the honest comparison
| Scheduled flight | Private boat | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | About 15 minutes in the air | About 40 minutes on the water |
| Door to door from SXM | Check-in, flight, bags, then a taxi across the island | Under 90 minutes from landing to your villa, van on both sides |
| Luggage | 23 kg checked, size and cabin caps, excess on space availability | No weight limit: suitcases, golf bags and boards all come along |
| After dark | No landings after sunset | Crosses at night |
| Priced | Per seat | Per boat, from €1,800 for the whole boat, 6 to 16 guests depending on the boat |
| Weather | Wind-shear cancellations happen | The captain reads the sea; if it is not safe to cross, full reschedule or refund |
| Who it suits | A couple with carry-on, the postcard landing, a midday arrival | A family or a group, lots of bags, a late arrival, anyone who wants door to dock |
The flight wins on one thing, the view on approach, and it is a real win. Everything else favours the boat once you are more than two people or carrying more than a carry-on.
Landing after the last flight?
Send us your flight number and we build the crossing around it.
WhatsApp usFrequently asked questions
Is there a direct flight from St Maarten to St Barts?
Yes. Winair and St Barth Commuter both fly SXM to SBH, in about 15 minutes in the air. Tradewind Aviation's scheduled St Barth service runs from San Juan and Antigua, not from Sint Maarten. Rotations operate during daylight hours only.
How long is the flight from SXM to SBH?
About 15 minutes in the air. The small-aircraft check-in at SXM, collecting bags at SBH and the taxi across the island to your villa add considerably more than the flight itself.
Can I fly from St Maarten to St Barts after sunset?
No. The St Barts runway has no lighting and the airport accepts no night landings, for planes or helicopters. After about 6 PM the only way across is a private boat, or a night in Sint Maarten and a morning rotation.
What is the baggage allowance on the St Maarten to St Barts flight?
Typically 23 kg (50 lb) checked with a 62-inch total-dimension limit, and 6 to 12 kg of cabin baggage depending on the airline. Heavier bags travel on space availability, for a fee, and a full aircraft can push them onto a later rotation.
Can I charter a plane from SXM to St Barts?
Yes. St Barth Commuter is flexible on charter slots, and Tradewind Aviation operates SXM to SBH as private charter. Helicopter charters run from Princess Juliana as well, including from the FBO. All of them stop at sunset.
What if my flight into SXM lands after the last flight to St Barts?
A private boat is not bound by the airport curfew. It crosses in about 40 minutes, with no luggage limit and a van on both sides, and it is timed to your actual landing. Send us your flight number.