Travelore News: Southwest Is Adding Nonstop Flights To St. Maarten

Southwest Airlines has extended its flight schedule with more routes to new places offering inspiration to book travel through June 3, 2026. It also introduced a new international partnership with EVA Air that’s on sale now and shared a third new destination for 2026, St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

Southwest® will bring new international service* to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) beginning April 7, 2026, adding the island of St. Maarten to the map of tropical destinations it serves across the Caribbean.

This is Southwest’s first new international destination since 2021. St. Maarten is comprised of two parts, the Netherlands’ constituent country of Sint Maarten, alongside the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin.Southwest will fly roundtrip once daily between St. Maarten (SXM) and Orlando (MCO) starting April 7, with an expanded schedule two days later that includes peak-schedule service on Saturdays and Sundays between St. Maarten and Baltimore/Washington (BWI). These nonstop routes allow roundtrip connections with more than 45 airports across the U.S. Check Southwest.com for available fares and schedules.

*subject to requisite approvals

Curacao And St. Maarten To Welcome New Currency More Than A Decade After Becoming Autonomous

A new joint currency will be launched this year for the Dutch Caribbean constituent countries of Curacao and St. Maarten more than a decade after they became autonomous within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, according to a recent bank report.

The Caribbean guilder will replace the Netherlands-Antillean guilder as mandated by a regional constitutional reform in October 2010 that changed the political status of Curacao and St. Maarten. They have autonomy over internal affairs, but the king of the Netherlands remains head of state and oversees defense and foreign diplomacy.

The currency will be introduced in the second half of 2024, according to an annual report that the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten released late last year.

The new currency will contain improved security features and will circulate alongside the current currency for three months after its introduction, the bank stated.

Residents in both islands will be able to exchange the current Netherlands-Antillean guilder for the new currency for a period of 30 years at an equal rate.

AP