Ruth Haines
The US Virgin Islands can be reached by air or by sea. There are four airports in the US Virgin Islands with scheduled flights, the largest and busiest of which is Saint Thomas (STT) / Cyril E. King Airport, with flights to 25 destinations in 8 countries. The airport is located on the island of St. Thomas, approximately two miles west of the capital city, Charlotte Amalie. The airport features one of the largest deep-water, dredged runways in the Caribbean, and is one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean.
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What You'll Learn
Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas
There are two ways to get to the US Virgin Islands: by air or by sea. The Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas is the airport that serves the US Virgin Islands. It is located at No. 70 Lindbergh Bay on the southwestern side of St. Thomas, approximately two miles west of the capital city, Charlotte Amalie. The airport is named after the second elected governor of the US Virgin Islands, Cyril Emmanuel King.
The airport sits on 280 acres of land and has one of the largest deep-water, dredged runways in the Caribbean. The asphalt runway measures 7,000 feet long by 150 feet wide (2,134 x 46 meters), making it one of the deepest man-made runways in the world. The two-story airport terminal was built in November 1990 and measures 190,000 square feet on the first floor, with 11 gates and 60,000 square feet on the top floor. The airport terminal is open from 6 am to 11 pm, and aircraft rescue and firefighting services are available during that time.
The airport has a long history, dating back to the 1920s when it was a small airstrip known as Mosquito Bay. The US government further developed the airstrip, renaming it Bourne Field, and it served primarily as an airfield for the US Military. After World War II, the airport was turned over to the VI government, and the original terminal, constructed in the 1940s, was named after Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States. The airport was renamed in honour of Governor Cyril Emmanuel King in 1984, and the current terminal was completed in 1990.
The Cyril E. King Airport is one of the busiest airports in the eastern Caribbean, with a high volume of air taxi, scheduled commercial, and general aviation operations. It has hosted notable flights, including Air Force One and Two carrying Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Joe Biden.
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Getting to the Virgin Islands
There are two ways to get to the Virgin Islands: by air or by sea.
By Air
There are two major airports in the Virgin Islands: the Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on St. Thomas and the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) on St. Croix. The former is located on the southwestern side of St. Thomas, approximately two miles west of the capital city, Charlotte Amalie. The latter is located on St. Croix, which also accommodates cruise ships. You can rent a car at or near both airports.
Non-stop and connecting services from the US mainland to St. Thomas and St. Croix are available. Flights on inter-island carriers can be made from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to St. Thomas and St. Croix and between islands. American Airlines offers non-stop and connecting services to St. Thomas and St. Croix, while Continental Airlines offers connecting services. US Airways offers non-stop and connecting services to St. Thomas, and Cape Air offers over 100 flights a day to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Vieques, Mayaguez, Tortola, Culebra, and Virgin Gorda. Most flights make connections in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
By Sea
Taking a cruise is a popular way to travel to the Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is one of the busiest cruise ports in the Caribbean, and St. Croix and St. John also accommodate cruise ships. Popular cruise lines to visit both islands include Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean. Many cruises require that you fly to Puerto Rico to board the ship, and a few itineraries begin on the mainland, primarily in Miami, Florida.
Ferries from St. Thomas are the most efficient way of getting to St. John (which has no airport) or even the British Virgin Islands. If you own a yacht, you can sail to the Virgin Islands, as the islands have facilities set up to accommodate various-size vessels for short and long-term visits.
Additional Information
When travelling to the US Virgin Islands, US citizens enjoy the conveniences of domestic travel, including online check-in. The best time to visit is from April to June, when you can expect mild weather and very little rainfall. The heat in the Caribbean can be scorching, so it is important to safeguard your skin by applying sunscreen and insect repellent. The US Virgin Islands have banned sunscreen that contains oxybenzone, octinoxate, and octocrylene to protect its ecosystem.
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Cape Air flights
Cape Air offers flights to the US Virgin Islands. The airline provides up to 15 flights a day to St. Thomas from San Juan, Tortola and St. Croix. There are up to nine daily flights between Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cyril E. King Airport in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. There are also up to four daily flights between Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Christiansted, St. Croix, and Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas. From December to May, there is a once-a-day island hopper flight between Terrance B. Lettsome Airport in Beef Island, Tortola, and Cyril E. King Airport.
Cyril E. King Airport (STT) is located at No. 70 Lindbergh Bay on the southwestern side of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, around two miles west of the capital city, Charlotte Amalie. The airport has one of the largest deep-water, dredged runways in the Caribbean. The asphalt runway measures 7,000 feet long by 150 feet wide (2,134 x 46 meters). The two-story airport terminal was built in November 1990 and offers aircraft rescue and firefighting services.
Cape Air also offers daily flights to Virgin Gorda, BVI, and flights from St. Thomas to St. Croix, St. Kitts, and Nevis. The airline serves over 30 destinations across the Northeast, Cape Cod and the Islands, Eastern Montana, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Kitts, and Nevis.
You can book Cape Air flights online at www.capeair.com or by calling 800-CAPE-AIR (800-227-3247) in the US.
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Yacht travel
If you own your own yacht, you can sail to the Virgin Islands and take advantage of the facilities set up to accommodate various-size vessels for short and long-term visits. If you don't own a yacht, you can charter one for a yacht vacation. Charters are available for catamarans, monohulls, motor yachts, superyachts, and megayachts. A 42-foot monohull, for example, can cost around $4000 for a week's charter for 6 people, while a 230-foot megayacht can cost about $500,000 per week. Yacht charter holidays in the US Virgin Islands are a luxurious experience, with some megayachts offering a fully-equipped gym, sauna, spa, gourmet dining, and even a helipad.
The best time for a yacht charter in the Virgin Islands is between March and July, with no rainfall and sunny skies. However, the yachting season in the islands starts in November and ends in June or July, as the islands belong to the hurricane belt and yacht charters are scarce during hurricane season (July to October).
When travelling by yacht to the US Virgin Islands, you can moor your charter at Magens Bay in St. Thomas, a popular spot for water sports, or at Buck Island, where you can snorkel or scuba dive the reefs. St. John, the smallest island in the USVI, is also a recommended destination, with 60% of its land occupied by a pristine national park offering hiking and diving opportunities.
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Airport history
The Cyril E. King International Airport (IATA: STT, ICAO: TIST, FAA LID: STT) is a public airport located at No. 70 Lindbergh Bay on the southwestern side of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands and one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean. The airport also serves the island of St. John and is often used by those travelling to the nearby British Virgin Islands.
The airport's history dates back to 1927 when it was known as Mosquito Bay. It was the only airstrip serving the island of St. Thomas and was named after a nearby grassy swamp. The first passengers landed in 1928, and the airstrip remained in civilian use until 1 September 1935, when it was purchased by the US government. The airstrip was then renamed Bourne Field, after the first person to fly non-stop from the United States to Nicaragua. The field was composed of two 1,600-foot (490-meter) unpaved runways used to train aviators of the US Marine Corps.
In 1940, the US Navy ordered a major expansion of the base, which included extending and paving the runways and constructing accommodations for a VMS-3 observation squadron. During World War II, the station included a seaplane base at Lindbergh Bay and a leased emergency field on the island of Anguilla. After the war, the airport was turned over to the VI government and renamed Harry S. Truman Airport, in honour of the 33rd President of the United States.
On 3 October 1984, the airport was renamed Cyril E. King Airport, honouring the second elected governor of the US Virgin Islands. Construction of the current airport terminal began in 1980 and was completed in November 1990. The runway was extended from 4,200 to 7,000 feet in 1992, making it one of the largest deep-water, dredged runways in the Caribbean.
The Cyril E. King Airport has witnessed several notable incidents. In 1970, a Trans Caribbean Airways Flight hard landing resulted in a fire that destroyed the aircraft and claimed two lives. In 1976, an American Airlines Flight ran off the runway, resulting in 37 fatalities out of 88 passengers on board. In 2006, a Tol-Air Services aircraft ditched into the sea after taking off from the airport, but all four people on board escaped safely.
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Frequently asked questions
There are four airports in the US Virgin Islands with scheduled flights.
The Cyril E. King Airport (STT) in St. Thomas is the biggest airport in the US Virgin Islands. It is also one of the busiest airports in the eastern Caribbean.
The runway at Cyril E. King Airport is 7,000 ft long and 150 ft wide.
There are two ways to get to the US Virgin Islands: by air or by sea. If you are travelling by air, you can fly to St. Thomas, and then take a ferry to your final destination. If you are travelling by sea, you can sail to the islands in your own yacht or charter a yacht.
