Maho Beach

I’ve ticked off another item on my bucket list. This afternoon, I finally got to stand on Maho Beach and watch commercial airliners landing mere metres above my head. For years, I’ve marvelled as this mind-boggling scene appeared on one social media post after another. As a dedicated aerospace geek, it’s become an iconic “must-do” destination.

Maho Beach is located on the island of Sint Maarten. It can be found metres from the end of the main runway at Princess Juliana International Airport. Arriving aircraft approach the runway threshold less than 30 metres above the beach. The photos above show you just how low they fly.

I researched the best flight times online and caught a taxi from our hotel to the beach mid-afternoon. My efforts were rewarded by a string of spectacular landings, including a large Air France Airbus 330 arriving from Paris. I also had a go at standing on the beach in line with the runway’s centre line as a departing jet aircraft commenced its take-off.

The blistering sandblasting I received from a departing Boeing 737 was enough to discourage me from attempting this feat again. For the remainder of the afternoon, I stood to one side to watch aircraft landing and departing. The spectacle is every bit as breathtaking as it appears online. Take a look at the videos below.

Two highlights stood out. First, departing aircraft don’t just generate a minor sandstorm on the beach; they also create an impressive whitewater shimmer that stretches more than 100 metres out to sea. Second, the largest aircraft coming into land generates wing-tip vortices that suddenly become visible as they hit the water, flinging swirling spray circles into the air.

For the more leisurely inclined, bars at either end of the beach offer visitors a bench seat view along the sand as they down their beer. The bars also broadcast live flight schedule updates throughout the day so that you can time your trip to the bar and not miss a thing.

Loved it. I’d do it again. Although next time, I’ll arrange for a taxi to collect me from the beach. When it came time to go, I couldn’t call the cab I’d organised as I didn’t have data roaming activated on my phone. Doh! In the end, I walked to a nearby hotel and found a taxi willing to take my fare.

And finally, here's what the landing looks like when you're a passenger on board. Garry grabbed this footage for me as we landed at Princess Juliana International Airport.