Reach from Anguilla to Sint Maarten in just eight minutes

It isn’t a typical flight, there isn’t in-flight service, no business class cabin, no food or watching a movie. It is just an eight-minute life flight from takeoff to landing, there’s no time for any of that.

There are shorter flights there too, the hop from Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney Islands clocks in at just 90 seconds, but the flight between the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and Sint Maarten is currently the world’s shortest international commercial flight.

Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory just 25.7 kilometres long and 5.6 kilometres wide, is a flat, dry, limestone island fringed by 33 white sand beaches.

It’s a celebrity favourite spot looking for a low-key place where they can be blissfully left alone. Nobody bats an eyelid here if they see LeBron James jumping from a rock in Little Bay or Justin Bieber performing on stage with local crooner Bankie Banx.

While its neighbour, Saint Martin, sits just 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometres) to the south at its closest point. Split in two, the northern part of the island is an overseas collectivity of France, while the southern part, named Sint Maarten, is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Currently Captain Carl Avery Thomas owner of Anguilla Air Services, the only airline offering planned flights on the route between Sint Maarten and Anguilla, and one of the company’s five pilots. He stated that maintaining air links is quite important for a small island like Anguilla. The place relies on tourism, most Anguillian families have at least one member working in the industry, and this short flight is critical.

“You cannot promote a five-star destination like Anguilla without an airport. If the only way to get to this island is by boat, I don’t think it would be good for our product,” he said. 

During the pandemic, regular ferries between Saint Martin and Anguilla were suspended that have since resumed. Several tourists arrive on the island by speed boat from Sint Maarten, having already taken one or often two flights to get this far.

On a good day, it’s a beautiful trip that takes around 25 minutes by speed boat, but when the sea is rough, it’s a bumpy ride. And Thomas believes that many of visitors don’t want to be “knocked about on a boat on the rough sea” on the final leg of their journey.

It doesn’t take long to get off the ground. The plane takes off to the east over Simpson Bay Lagoon, before banking to the left, crossing over the French side of the island and the narrow strip of land along Rue de Sandy Ground, heading north to make the short hop across to Anguilla.

Beyond tourism, Thomas’ aircraft play another key role that is vital in supporting this traditionally boating and fishing community.

“We provide search and rescue services free of charge to the state,” he said. Whenever a fishing boat goes missing, Thomas and his team take to the air. We’ve always done it, ever since I started the company. It’s a joy when we’re on a search and rescue mission and we find someone,” he continued. 

The aircraft are also involved in medical transportation flights and evacuations, being the only entity on the island outside of the hospital with a ventilator. “During Covid, we offer it to the hospital in case it’s needed,” said Thomas.

But the eight-minute flight between Anguilla and Sint Maarten will remain an important link between these two neighboring territories and a vital part of this small island’s aviation heritage.

Source: Agencies