Saint-Barthélemy is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, located between the islands of Sint Maarten and St. Kitts. The island is an oversea collectivity of France and with only 21 square kilometers, it is one of the smaller islands of the Caribbean. Its a popular place for the rich and famous and the luxury  resorts are nothing for the ‘normal’ tourist. Anyway, the airport is well know by aviation enthusiasts because of its famous runway 10 approach.

At the end of the threshold is a steep hill, while on the other side is the ocean, so altogether makes SBH one of the world´s most dangerous airports! Aircrafts on arrival for 10 have to pass the hill by push the nose extremely down during the final approach and pull it up just a few seconds before touching down. The distance between the hills edge and the plane can be less than two meters.

The runway is only 650 meters long and due to the difficult approach you see no jet aircraft and only props. The biggest aircraft is the DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Winair with flights to Sint Maarten and Air Antilles Express offering flights to Guadeloupe. Other schedule carriers are Tradewinds Airlines with PC-12, Saint Barth Commuter with Cessna Caravan and Windward Express and Anguilla Air Service both operating the Britten Norman Islander.

Please, never stand directly under the flight path at both ends of the runway. Planes are very very low and there is always a chance of getting hit. An American tourist was struck and killed by a departing aircraft at SBH in 2008!

Written by Julian Mittnacht, Luís Sousa (Pics for Spot 3) and Martin Rogosz (Pics for Spot 3 and Airport Overview). Last update: September 2019

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
10/28	650m (2.133ft) Asphalt
Terminals	All airlines are served at the same Terminal
Spotting Information
Ladder	No need. Its just a small wooden fence.
Car/Public Transport	Everything is within walking distance from the terminal.
Restrooms	Inside the terminal.
Drinks/Food	Inside the terminal.
Hotels	Plenty of Hotels on the island. Nothing special at the airport.
Season	The temperatures and daily sun hours are the same all year round but more rain and hurricanes between July and November.
Runway Usage
10/28	10 is the main direction for arrivals and departures. 28 arrivals are very rare.

	Spot #1 – The Hill
WHERE	To get on top of the hill just exit the terminal at the rental cars offices and pass the parking lot. You will be on the sidewalk of the road which is parallel to the runway and leads up the hill to the roundabout. It takes just 2 or 3 minutes to get there! You can stay on the sidewalk or just walk up to the roundabout for a different angle.
WHAT	You see the planes arriving from the ocean, passing the roundabout and starting there steep approach into RWY 10. If you stay a little more down the road, closer to the terminal, you can spot the departing aircraft too.
TIME	You can stay here the whole day and easily move to the other side of the runway if the sun turns around in the summer.
MISC.	There is shadow on the other side of the road otherwise its getting very hot.
FOCAL LENGTH	Between 30-150mm. Depends on the position.

SBH-Spot1

SBH-Spot1

SBH-Spot1

SBH-Spot1

SBH-Spot1

SBH-Spot1

	Spot #2 – Terminal
WHERE	There are two locations within the terminal. One is landside on the first floor where the cafeteria and toilets are with a big window where you see the apron and runway. The other one is airside, behind the security within the waiting area.
WHAT	You see all apron and runway movements. The spot on the first floor has a better view of the runway as the sight is not blocked from the aircraft. At the gate, planes can obstruct your sight.
TIME	During the winter you have good light for the whole day.
MISC.	Everything you need is within the terminal, even an air condition 🙂
FOCAL LENGTH	80mm for the samples. All pictures taken from the gate area.

SBH-Spot2

SBH-Spot2

SBH-Spot2

	Spot #3 – Beach
WHERE	The spot is on the opposite site of #1. Exit the terminal to your left and follow the road along the perimeter fence to the beach. You can even see it when you leave the terminal.
WHAT	From this spot you can take pictures from 28 arrivals and departing aircraft on 10 (bad angle). Its possible that you get some arriving aircraft on 10 when they turn around on the threshold but usually they already turn in the middle of the runway and you will miss them.
TIME	You can stay here the whole day and easily move to the other side of the runway if the sun turns around in the summer.
MISC.	Everything you need is within the terminal. Don’t stay directly under the approach path as the planes are very low!
FOCAL LENGTH	Equal focal length as on Spot 1 and 2.

SBH-Spot3

SBH-Spot3

SBH-Spot3

SBH-Spot3

SBH-Spot3

SBH-Spot3