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For those who fear that Saint Barth's appeal will diminish, the airport's 2025 activity figures should provide some comfort. For others, who are concerned about the growing and invasive increase in visitor numbers to the island, this assessment will only heighten their apprehension. In any case, the results released by airport management for 2025 show an increase in traffic and passenger numbers compared to 2024.
Over the past year, 232,535 people passed through Saint Barth's airport. This represents an increase of 14.2% compared to the 2024 figures. Growth was observed throughout most of the year, with significant peaks during the high tourist season from January to April and sustained growth until November. December was an exception, however, with a slight decline compared to the previous year (-5.4%). "This decline can be explained by several factors combined," explains Fabrice Danet, airport director. "Delays in transatlantic feeder flights and high congestion at Sint Maarten Airport (SXM), creating operational constraints that were detrimental to connecting flights, the suspension of Air Antilles' AOC (Air Operator Certificate) and operating license since Monday, December 8, and possibly a normalization effect in passenger numbers, as December 2024 reached an unprecedented record level."
In any case, these results confirm the maintenance of high passenger numbers, supported by the presence of fifteen operators in the market: Winair, Tradewind Aviation, St Barth Commuter, St Barth Executive, SEML Air Antilles, SXM Airways, West Indies Helicopters, Anguilla Air Services, Trans Anguilla Airways, Windward Express, Breeze Air Charter, Cape Air, Air Paradise, Montserrat Airways, and Calvinair.
Balanced arrivals and departures
It should be noted that passenger traffic is almost exclusively commercial (96% of total traffic). "Non-commercial traffic is marginal," points out Fabrice Danet. International traffic accounts for the majority of flows (80%), with 187,812 passengers. This represents a significant increase compared to 2024 (+10.5%). The hubs of Juliana (Sint Maarten) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) remain the main centers of exchange, with 59% of traffic to and from Sint Maarten and 18% to and from San Juan.
Domestic traffic remains more limited, with 44,723 passengers. In fact, it is mainly based on connections with Guadeloupe and Saint Martin (Grand Case), with more contrasting trends depending on the route. Finally, arrivals (113,869 passengers) and departures (118,866 passengers) are broadly balanced.
More movements in 2025
In terms of aircraft movements, the airport will record 47,805 in 2025. This represents an increase of 11.8% over one year compared to 2024, including 45,686 commercial movements (+12.7%). International flights account for the bulk of this activity (+9.5% with 36,216 movements), while domestic flights show the strongest relative growth (+27.2% with 9,469 movements), reflecting increased regional connectivity, particularly with Guadeloupe.
Non-commercial traffic (general aviation) accounted for 2,121 movements, down 6.2% year-on-year. "This decrease mainly concerns non-commercial domestic flights, confirming the growing prioritization of regular commercial operations at the airport," said Fabrice Danet.
The director points out that the airport is subject to significant structural constraints: a short runway, a challenging environment, demanding approach conditions, limited capacity, and daytime-only operations. "The simultaneous increase in passengers and movements puts additional pressure on infrastructure and operational services, particularly during busy periods, while limiting the possibilities for a significant increase in capacity," insists Fabrice Danet. However, he is pleased: "These exceptional figures testify both to the performance of the AFIS service and the professionalism of the agents in a traffic context marked by sustained demand. " In addition, he believes that the air traffic control system "is a major challenge" in a context of growth. This is in order to guarantee the long-term safety of operations, maintain a high level of service quality, and "ensure the controlled use of available resources." Such as aircraft parking capacity.
Introduced on November 15, the control system will be reviewed for the first time by the airport management and the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority) at the end of the first quarter.
A turbulent start to the year
In the meantime, the airport has already recorded record figures for the start of 2026. There were 315 aircraft movements on January 2, 347 on January 4 (after a sharp drop on Saturday, January 3, due to the closure of airspace decided by the US government), and then 269 on Monday, January 5. "Regulations on private jet flights were put in place on January 4, with an initial limit of four private jets per hour, which could be reduced to a maximum of two jets, due to persistent congestion in San Juan's airspace," explains Fabrice Danet.
To cap off the start of the year, a westerly wind linked to the passage of a frontal disturbance severely hampered takeoff operations from mid-morning on Monday, January 5, until noon the following day. Due to these unfavorable conditions, passengers were transported by ferry to Saint Martin and rescheduled on flights on January 6 and 7.
