Aviation Specials – May 2018

World’s shortest

Saba is a Dutch municipality formed from

the upper portion of the now-dormant

Mount Scenery volcano, the highest point

in the Netherlands. It measures a mere

5sq miles (13km²) and has only four towns

• The Bo om (the capital), Windwardside,
  Hell’s Gate and St Johns – which are home
  to fewer than 2,000 Sabans, but tourism
  draws more than 25,000 travellers to the
  island each year. Most want to explore
  the lush wooded hillsides or dive on the
  underwater pillars of volcanic rock, coral
  and teeming sea life, but a few come to
  experience the shortest airstrip used by
  commercial fl ights anywhere in the world.
  Juancho E Yrausquin Airport (SAB) is
  used only by 19-seat de Havilland DHC-6
  Twin O ers and nine-passenger Bri en-
  Norman BN-2 Islanders, as the 1,300ft
  (396m) Runway 12/30 precludes the use
  of anything larger. The airstrip is located
  on the northeast part of the landmass, has
  cliff s at either end and is fl anked by hills to
  the south. Even so, arriving and departing
  by air is popular as the small aircraft ply
  the 28-mile (45km) route between SXM

SABA

SUN, SEA AND SKYLINERS

CARIBBEAN

and SAB several times a day, while the ferry

takes 90 minutes and operates only three

times a week.

The rest of the facilities at SAB are

fairly rudimentary. A small but pleasant

terminal with a control tower on top was

completed in 2002 after the previous

building was destroyed by Hurricane

Georges. Inside, there is a check-in desk,

an immigration station and an airline

offi ce, while outside there is a single

fi re engine. The small apron has space

enough to park two Twin O ers – maybe

three at a push – and a helicopter pad.

Short and sweet

A 15-minute fl ight across the deep-blue

Caribbean from St Martin to Saba is

usually a very pleasant experience. The

Twin O ers rarely climb above 2,000ft

and, for most of the journey, just gently

bob in the thermals generated by the

warm sun. As the aircraft swings onto the

fi nal approach and the propellers go to

fi ne pitch, passengers get a quick view of

an almost impossibly short strip of tarmac

through an ever-open cockpit door. The

terrain makes turbulence extremely

likely, but the pilots will be focusing on the

landing threshold.

A fi rm touchdown is almost usually

followed by a fairly vigorous application of

reverse, as the overrun is a drop into the

waves below. Departures are slightly less

dramatic, but observers will sometimes

wonder whether a heavily laden aircraft

actually takes off , or just launches into the

air as the runway ends. Welcome to Saba,

one of the smallest and most unspoiled

islands in the region and the island with

theshortest commercial runway in

the world.

AIRPORT STATISTICS

Princess Juliana Gustav III Juancho E Yrausquin

IATA code: SXM SBH SAB

ICAO code: TNCM TFFJ TNCS

Location: N18°2.46’ W63°6.54’ N17°54.27’ W62°50.63’ N17°38.72’ W63°13.23’

Elevation: 14ft (4m) 48ft (15m) 138ft (42m)

Runway: 10/28 7,546 x 148ft (2,300 x 45m) 10/28 2,119 x 59ft (646 x 18m) 12/30 1,312ft (400m)

Frequencies: Approach 128.95 Tower 118.7 AFIS 118.45 n /a

Website: http://www.sxmairport.com n /a n /a

AIRLINES

Anguilla Air Services

Winair

Windward Express

ABOVE LEFT: A

Winair Twin O er

is buff eted by the

wind as it

approaches Saba.

(Renato Serra

Fonseca)

ABOVE: The

small and simple

terminal fi ts

perfectly with the

island lifestyle.

(Wikimedia

Commons /

Photocapy)

Extreme Airports // 79

CARIBBEAN

BELOW: Saba

has the shortest

runway used by

commercial fl ights

anywhere in

the world.

(Wikimedia

Commons /

Photocapy)

72-79_Caribbean.indd 79 11/05/2018 11:58