Last ever KLM 747 landing at Maho Beach

One of the best things about Maho Beach, for many, on the Caribbean island of St Maarten-St Martin was seeing KLM's 747s roar overhead to the airport nearby. Photo / Getty

Most would agree that a roaringly good time was had by all - but now the party is over.

One of the best things about Maho Beach, for many, on the Caribbean island of St Maarten-St Martin was seeing KLM's 747s roar overhead to the airport nearby.

But the last ever hair-raising landing by a jumbo belonging to the carrier was made on Friday.

For over 20 years the huge airliners have been delighting beach-goers and photographers as they pass just 100 feet overhead and touch down at Princess Juliana International Airport.

But from now on it'll be a smaller Airbus - an A330 - that serves the 747's route and makes the dramatic landing on the island, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The blast from the engines of planes passing overhead has been known to blow beachgoers' hats off their heads and pelt them with sand and other debris.

Maho Beach is one of the world's best plane-spotting locations, with thousands of brave holidaymakers flocking there every day to stand directly under the flight path as passenger jets buzz overhead.

Signs warn visitors that jet blast from arriving and departing planes can cause serious injury or even death.

Thrillseekers have been known to hold onto a chain-link fence when a jet is preparing for take-off so they are blasted by the engines and lifted off the ground.

Princess Juliana, located on the Dutch side of the island (the other half is a French overseas collectivity), is the second-busiest airport in the eastern Caribbean region.

Its runway is less than half the length of those found at many international airports.

It was previously named one of the world's most dangerous airports by the History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports.