St. Maarten has postponed all U.S. commercial flights for
two weeks.
The destination was slated to resume full operations at Princess
Juliana Airport on July 1. However, due to the surging number of Covid-19 cases
in the U.S., all flights to and from the U.S. have been pushed back, tourism
minister Ludmilla de Weever told the Daily Herald newspaper.
St. Maarten shares a border with French St. Martin, and
there was a risk that the border between the two would be closed if flights
from the U.S. were permitted to land on the Dutch side.
Flights from Europe and Canada are being allowed. Flights
from Aruba, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, Anguilla, St. Barts, Martinique, Guadeloupe,
St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and the British Virgin
Islands also will be permitted to land.
Strict health protocols for arriving and departing
passengers include proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of travel,
thermal temperature checks and mandatory mask wearing in the airport and in
public spaces on the island.