“Storm of the Century:” Airline & Operator Updates as Hurricane Melissa Strikes Jamaica

As Jamaica is lashed by the outer bands of a historically powerful Hurricane Melissa, Canada’s airlines and tour operators are working to ensure the safety of travellers.

The slow-moving storm, described as the strongest on the planet this year, is also expected to impact eastern Cuba, Turks & Caicos, the southern parts of the Bahamas and potentially Bermuda later in the week.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall as a Category 5 in western Jamaica late this morning. After crossing the island, the storm will make a second landfall in Cuba Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, World Meteorological Organization MO tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan said the body expects a catastrophic situation in Jamaica, with wind gusts of more than 300km/h (186mph), flash floods and landslides. 

“For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure,” Fontan added.

It’s not just the strength of the storm. Meteorologists say slow hurricanes like Melissa linger over one place – causing prolonged rainfall and storm surges that last much longer than a faster-hitting hurricane, causing flooding and landslides. 

Here are some updates early on October 28:

• Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay has been closed since October 26, with a planned reopening at noon on October 29.
• Holguin (HOG) and Santiago de Cuba (SCN) airports in eastern Cuba will be closed for at least today and tomorrow.
• Air Canada is offering a flexible rebooking policy for flights through October 29 to several destinations including  Kingston, Montego Bay, Varadero, Cayo Coco, San Salvador (El Salvador) and Providenciales (Turks & Caicos). More information is here.
• WestJet has issued a flexible booking policy for flights to Kingston, Montego Bay and Holguin through October 29. More information can be found here. 
• WestJet flights servicing Sunwing Vacations customers within the closure period for Sangster Airport have been cancelled. For Sunwing Vacations clients in destination, more information is here.
• Air Transat repatriated guests from Holguin to Montreal and Toronto yesterday. The airline’s Transat’s Hurricane Policy applies to flights scheduled on October 31 to Holguin from Montreal and Toronto. More information here.

The Jamaica Tourist Board’s Canadian director Angella Bennett was able to get a WestJet flight home yesterday after losing power on the island.

“Due to Hurricane Melissa’s rapid intensification to a Category 4 storm, I’ve made the decision to depart Jamaica today to ensure my ability to stay connected and support our operations remotely,” Bennett said in a Facebook post. “With internet connectivity, I’ll be able to monitor updates from the Tourism Emergency Operations Centre (TEOC) and respond accordingly.”