St Maarten Halts All Flights To/From USA For Two Weeks Starting July 1

[RNCollins]

Received an email from SXM Weekly Newsletter...

**BULLETIN***

“From SXM Weekly News: SXM Halts All Flights To/From USA For Two Weeks Starting July 1

St. Maarten said today it is halting all scheduled flights from
the USA effective July 1 for 14 days.

The move, which was not a huge surprise, was a direct response
to the meteoric rise in Covid cases in many parts of the USA
and the island's unwavering dedication to keeping the people
of SXM healthy.

Although flights could nominally restart in mid-July, cases in
the US are expected to continue rising, which means the restart
date is subject to change....”

For more information visit:

Update: Airport opening to US postponed for 2 weeks

PHILIPSBURG--The Council of Ministers decided today, Tuesday, to postpone all commercial flights to and from the United States (US) for the next two...

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[TravelTime]

Oh no, not another ban on American tourists. I am so embarrassed by our situation. [Political observation redacted.] I do not think anyone wants us in their country. When will this end?

 

[nerodog]

Oh no, not another ban on American tourists. I am so embarrassed by our situation. [Political observation redacted.] I do not think anyone wants us in their country. When will this end?

I share your sentiment. We have to get our act together..other countries have managed, why not us ?!

 

[pedro47]

TravelTime and nerodog, I, also share your sentiment. No one want American tourists or our American dollars. This was a governmental action against the USA.

 

[RNCollins]

Some more information from the Sint Maarten Tourism Bureau:

Covid Updates

stmaartenupdates.com

 

[CanuckTravlr]

Canadians and Europeans are still allowed entry. However, the 72-hour Covid-19 test requirement will be problematic for many jurisdictions. In Ontario currently, the minimum time to get your results back is 4 days and most of the time it is longer than that. So no way to plan to have results of a test done within 72 hours of arrival.

 

[youppi]

Canadians and Europeans are still allowed entry. However, the 72-hour Covid-19 test requirement will be problematic for many jurisdictions. In Ontario currently, the minimum time to get your results back is 4 days and most of the time it is longer than that. So no way to plan to have results of a test done within 72 hours of arrival.

Even if you are able to get your result test within 72 hrs of arrival, it is not recommended by the Canadian Government to travel abroad. Lot of risk. If something happen in Sint Maarten, you are in trouble.

If everything went well then at your return, you must quarantine for 2 weeks at home (if you can't work from home then you will need to take another 2 weeks of vacation or time off without salary for the quarantine).

 

[CanuckTravlr]

Even if you are able to get your result test within 72 hrs of arrival, it is not recommended by the Canadian Government to travel abroad. Lot of risk. If something happen in Sint Maarten, you are in trouble.

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If everything went well then at your return, you must quarantine for 2 weeks at home (if you can't work from home then you will need to take another 2 weeks of vacation or time off without salary for the quarantine).

Thanks for your concern and the heads-up, but that is a general government advisory for ALL countries at the current time. We are not going anywhere anytime soon!! Plus my comments were specific to St. Maarten / St. Martin, where Covid-19 is currently under control. The comments were also general in nature, as it related to the ability to get test results within the time-frame required, not just concerning our particular circumstances.

We travel most years to St. Maarten in January and February, so we are very familiar with both the island and the procedures involved. Our reservation isn't until mid-January, and we don't just go for a week or two, so there is lots of time for things to change before we have to make a decision. Unless there are some significant changes, we won't be going. It's that simple. Insurance is only one of them.

We rent a condo in St. Maarten, so we can stay relatively isolated and enjoy the warmer weather, even when we are there. We are retired and have already been essentially isolated in our home for almost 4 months now. So a full, two-week quarantine in mid-winter upon our return in late February will not be a particular hardship!! But that is only one of several considerations that need to be reviewed before we make a final decision.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

The latest update for US travellers is that entry has been pushed off once again to August 1st. The Minister did indicate that they now hope to be able to stick to this date and not extend it further.

The constant pushing off of the date makes it difficult for the airlines in terms of arranging their schedules. I think they are afraid the airlines will eventually get fed-up and decide to cancel their schedule for a period of time. While that is possible, I think the airlines are so desperate for business and have so much excess capacity right now, that instituting or changing a schedule fairly quickly should not be all that difficult.

With the massive new outbreak going on in the USA lately, I personally think the August 1st date is a potentially lethal crap shoot for the island, even with the compulsory 72-hour Covid-19 test-result requirement. I would not be surprised to see the date pushed out further. Time will tell.

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