St. Maarten Airport shares WestJet Boeing 737 removal update

Sint Maarten Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) has shared an update about the removal progress of the WestJet Boeing 737-800 that suffered a hard landing while landing at the single-runway airport on the Dutch part of Saint Martin on September 7, 2025.

In a statement posted to social media, which included a video live from the runway, where the Canadian carrier’s 737-800, registered as C-GWSR, is still stuck on the ground, the airport said that workers were now working to put the aircraft on a truck and move it.

The statement, posted at around 9:40 local time (UTC -4), added that SXM’s sole runway remains closed and that it should reopen “quite shortly,” with the representative urging passengers to contact their airlines for the latest information.

SXM continued that once the WestJet 737-800 is removed from the runway, local officials will inspect the runway and only then clear the airport to resume operations.

“We remain optimistic and will continue to keep the public and stakeholders informed as the situation develops.”

WestJet confirmed that its 737-800 was involved in an incident while landing at SXM on flight WS 2276 from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on September 7, 2025. Following the hard landing of the narrowbody, emergency services responded immediately and deployed foam as a precaution.

Passengers and flight crew proceeded to evacuate the aircraft via its emergency slides, with WestJet confirming that “all guests [were] accounted for and there are no reported injuries.”

Meanwhile, SXM’s initial statement about the event said that its single runway has been closed following the incident, and “will remain closed until tomorrow at noon.”

Videos, including a live stream from the airport, showed the WestJet 737-800 coming in for a landing at SXM at around 13:29, when the aircraft slammed into the ground, suffering at least a partial landing gear collapse. The 737-800 heavily leaned on its right side as it stopped on the runway, something that the pilots relayed to local air traffic control (ATC).

Flightradar24 records showed that after the WestJet aircraft stopped on the runway, at least two major carriers’ flights, namely JetBlue flight B6 887 from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and Delta Air Lines flight DL 1894 from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), had to divert to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU).

Currently, as the runway is still occupied by the WestJet 737-800, an American Airlines 737-800, registered as N951AA, and a KLM Airbus A330-200, registered as PH-AOA, are stuck on the ground at SXM. Flightradar24 indicated that the American Airlines 737-800 could depart SXM at 13:22, while the KLM A330-300 could leave the island for Port of Spain Piarco International Airport (POS) at 14:20. 

Both arrived at SXM on September 7, 2025, less than half an hour before the WestJet 737-800 suffered the hard landing event at the airport.