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We are planning our airfare and I was wondering... How early do we need to be at the STT airport returning to the States? We are coming from Pittsburgh and need to be at our airport 2 hours before the flight. Is this true of the airport on STT? Thanks in advance!
I would be there a full 2 hours ahead of time. Depending on the time of day, it can take a long time to get thru the ticket line and then thru immigration, etc. Was there once when the computers all went down and they had to hand write all the boarding passes. We made the plane, but wouldn't have if we went just 1 hour early.
Have a great time!
WW
yes most definately... the security does'nt take as long as it will be in pittsburgh but you will need time to clear customs.
Remember the air port is still on "Island Time" give yourself plenty of time, 2+ hours is my rule.
RM
We had a 3pm flight out of St. Thomas to Philadelphia on a Monday afternoon. We left the hotel which was a 10 minute walk at 2pm and had plenty of time to get through the check-in and customs. We were even slightly delayed by a belt buckle and they had to search our backpack but we made it on the plane with plenty of time to spare.
2 Hours is good.
RM's advice about being on Island Time is good advice.
One year, my wife and I had to stop by Havensight on the way to Airport to pick up a ring that we had bought on the trip. Because of the side trip we didn't get to the airport until about 1 hr. 15 minutes before our flight (which we reasoned would be plenty, because we could get away with that in Seattle).
Not so on the Island. They told us when we arrived,
that we had missed our flight." I politely questioned them, to find out the reason that we missed our flight, to which they replied, "there's not enough time to get you through customs."
So learn 2 things from my mistake:
1.) The Islanders expect you respect them by showing up early enough so that they can keep the airport running smoothly. So if you don't show up on time, they won't go out of their way.
1.) Also, show respect with the ticketing agents. In Seattle I would have gotten on the plane, but not in St. Thomas. It would have been very easy for me to go balistic on the ticketing agent, because that's what we do on the mainland. I believe that because I was nice about how I treated the counter people at the airport, they bent over backwards to get me on a flight to San Juan, so that I could still make my connection.
JFP
