Good Morning, Good Morning! I just wanted to take a quick moment this morning to alert anyone traveling out of the St. Thomas airport this weekend to abide by the three hour rule. Several Facebook posts from residents and visitors this past week have noted lengthy lines for TSA/Customs beginning as early as 11AM.
We often have guests on Asante that are deliberating about whether or not they ACTUALLY need to be at the airport three hours early. I never even pause to think before immediately responding YES. You might get lucky and breeze right through customs and TSA. But, then again, you might arrive two hours early and barely make it to your gate on time at our tiny airport that packs volume on departures and arrivals.
This week, reports of security lines that wrapped around out to baggage claim likely left some travelers with some unplanned renegotiations of their travel schedule.
TSA apps that I have used in the past mark the average wait time at Cyril E. King Airport as seven minutes. This is unbelievably inaccurate based on my ten years of flying in and out of the territory. Even if I am not checking a bag and am checked in online, I still arrive at the airport with several hours to spare.
So, as a gentle reminder, arrive early and skip the stress if you are flying out. Especially on peak travel days…Like the weekend. And most importantly, during some of the busiest times of the year! (Spring Break 🙂 )
This morning, I spoke with Port Authority Public Information Officer, Monifa Brathwaite. She informed me that the delays this week were due to back up at passenger processing in the customs lines. Sometime sit is customs and sometimes it is TSA. But, if one delay happens, it can easily result in these long lines. And she reinforced that, for years, Port Authority’s messaging has urged travelers to arrive two and a half to three hours early at our little airport that sees 900,000 visitors annually.
However, spending a little extra time at the airport isn’t necessarily a bad thing! The Hibiscus Cafe Bar and Restaurant is open (GET THE MAC AND CHEESE!) as are the kiosks and gift shops. I have seen that there is a new coffee shop and bakery in the terminal too. But, I have some little birds flying out next weekend that have promised me pictures and a full report on the updates at the airport (Thanks George & Venice 🙂 ). So, stay tuned!
Also, I want to remind you gently that due to Federal Law, masks are still required in all ports of entry and federally overseen public transportation (ferries, planes, air and sea port terminals). This mandate will be under review on April 18 and I’ll be sure to keep an eye out and update you if that changes!
Have a great weekend everyone. If you are flying, I wish you safe and stress free travels and fun wherever you may land.
We got there 3 hours early March 5 and watched the airport slowly fill up!!! One bummer was that there were NO POSTCARDS TO BUY. Why ?????
I was out in March ..yes they tell you to get there three hours early…then they don’t even open the customs doors until two hours before your flight…if they want you there that early that makes no sense for what so you can stand there with no movement?
There is NO federal law for masks. That’s ridiculous for you to say it’s a law. A mandate is not a law
Mandate or law, who gives a crap. Just follow the rules.
If we fly out to new york jfk and then straight on with klm to Amsterdam do we need a covid test to fly out ?
And to come in ? Through new york ?
Following for updates April 1 – 8
We arrived by 11 and got thru fine a couple weeks ago but saw the line behind us! Thanks!! Love the bar in the duty free shop and the deep fried pocket we ate from Hibiscus!! Can’t remember name of it! But was awesome!!
We flew out March 26 and got there at 11:45 for a flight at 3:47. I was shocked at how long the customs line was. It went from the farthest check in desk, up to where arrivals comes in and back to customs. It left us with maybe 45 min until we boarded . It may seem extremely early but they know how to get you where you need to be to fly home. Trust them!
One of THE most crowded and boring airports to sit at-if you can find a seat! I haven’t experienced any issue with getting thru lines in a timely fashion, and never have gotten there with more than an hour to wait. I am TSA recheck, so that helps.
If you have a Global Entry card, be sure to bring it to gain access to a (slightly) shorter line once you are admitted to the customs processing room.
Usvixpat, yes under the circumstances a mandate is the same as a law and are essentially the same thing! In fact, mandates and laws are effectively the same thing. The only difference is how they are initiated: Mandates are created and enacted by an executive branch, such as a state governor, rather than through a lengthier legislative process that ends with the governor’s signature and new, durable law. Mandates are also usually temporary, and deal with an urgent issue.
This is really silly and its about time folks will get their act together.
How can people treat this as a norm?:
“Good Morning, Good Morning! I just wanted to take a quick moment this morning to alert anyone traveling out of the St. Thomas airport this weekend to abide by the three hour rule. Several Facebook posts from residents and visitors this past week have noted lengthy lines for TSA/Customs beginning as early as 11AM”
Really, 3 hours? Why can’t this be fixed once and for all? Trust me, the economy will do much better for people spending time in stores than in lines.
Push for a fix by asking questions, hard question and not just report thing.
Can’t the airport hire more help to move things faster and the Hibiscus cafe is always SOOOO packed, you can’t get a seat.
The next time you speak with the Port Authority Information Officer, please ask her why when they built the airport they installed two water fountains between the men’s and women’s bathrooms, only to remove them a year later?
I suppose we all know the answer, so they can sell bottled water. The fact that they rebuilt the airport and included water fountains only to remove them has always stuck me as bizarre.
They were removed because of the Covid.
Very long wait last Saturday 4/2. We took the 9am ferry for a 3pm flight and were had less than an hour wait!
Very long wait last Saturday 4/2. We took the 9am ferry for a 3pm flight and had less than an hour wait!
Left on Thursday, April 7. Arrived a little under 3 hours ahead of time. No problems really. You do need to print off a bag tag at the kiosks prior to bag drop. One of the most interesting things to note is that all of the seats have charging stations built right in but none of them are plugged into a power source. Government efficiency at its finest, I guess. They do have several power stations randomly scattered throughout the airport that are separate from the seats.
Does the airport still have porters and do they help speed things up? We have a 3pm flight, but I will be stuck in a meeting and don’t expect to be able to get to the airport until 1pm at the earliest.
Thoughts? Strategies? US citizen not bringing anything back, but do have to check a bag.