Cyril E. King Airport (STT)
St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands
AIRPORT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Due to the construction of a multi-level parking garage, there is temporarily NO parking space at the Cyril E. King Airport. Residents are encouraged to arrange to be dropped off and picked up at the airport terminal when traveling.
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Free daily parking is available adjacent to the former Island Beachcomber Hotel at Lindbergh Bay Beach. Overnight parking is NOT allowed at this parking lot.
About the Cyril E. King Airport
The Cyril E. King International Airport (STT) is a public airport located at No. 70 Lindbergh Bay on the southwestern side of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands - approximately two miles west of the capital city, Charlotte Amalie. CEKA is one of the busiest airports in the eastern Caribbean.
The entire airport sits on about 280 acres of land. The airport's asphalt runway measures 7,000 feet long by x 150 feet wide (2,134 x 46 meters). It is one of the deepest man-made runways in the world. The two-story airport terminal was built in Nov. 1990. It measures 190,000 square feet on the first floor and has 11 gates. The top floor measures 60,000 square feet.
Hours of Operation
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The airport terminal is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aircraft rescue, and firefighting services are available during that time. Airline ticketing and federal services (such as U.S. Customs and TSA) may close earlier than the terminal closing time.
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The Air Traffic Control Tower operates from 7 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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The runway is open 24 hours.
AIRLINE INCENTIVE PROGRAM: Any airline may apply for VIPA's incentive program if they intend to provide airlift via a new route or add flights on an existing route already served by the airline to the Cyril E. King Airport (CEKA) on St. Thomas or the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (HERA) on St. Croix, or provide flights to CEKA after 5 pm (Atlantic Standard Time). Landing fees are waived for one year, and terminal, arrival, and departure fees are reduced by 50% for a year.
Effective December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2024.
A Historical Account of the Cyril E. King Airport
St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands
The United States of America purchased the US Virgin Islands in 1917. The first airport on St. Thomas was a small airstrip built in the 1920s in what was known as Mosquito Bay. Mosquito Bay was dredged, filled in, and renamed Lindbergh Bay. On Jan. 22, 1928, the first passengers arrived on St. Thomas by air via the La Nina, a monoplane owned by the Aerial Express Co. of San Juan carrying its pilot and four passengers.
The US government further developed the airstrip and renamed it Bourne Field. It served primarily as an airfield for the US Military. The airport was turned over to the VI government after the military ceased operations in the territory after World War II. The original airport terminal was an old military hangar constructed in the 1940s and the airport was named in honor of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States.
On October 3, 1984, the airport was renamed after the late Governor Cyril Emmanuel King - the second elected governor of the US Virgin Islands. Construction of the current airport terminal began in 1980 and was completed in October 1990. The runway was extended from 4,200 to its present 7,000 length in 1992. The Cyril E. King Airport features one of the largest deep-water, dredged runways in the Caribbean.
