Hurricane season is hitting the Caribbean hard this year. Not even a full week has passed with Hurricane Irma passing through, but now Hurricane Maria is up next.

Here are how some of the travel industry community is dealing with Maria:

Saint Lucia

On Sept 20, Saint Lucia Tourist Board stated that they experienced moderate showers and winds over the Northern  Windward Islands. Hewanorra International Airport is now open and all flights have been resumed following the discontinued Tropical Storm warning.

St. Kitts

On Sept 20, St. Kitts released an update advising everyone to remain indoors until they were given the “all clear” by the National Emergency Management Agency. The airport will re-open later in the day. The following flight details have been released:
• American Airlines non-stop daily flight #318 from Miami (MIA) to St. Kitts
• British Airways’ flight #2157 from London Gatwick to St.Kitts via Antigua was cancelled, however it has be rerouted tomorrow as flight #2157/2256.

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On September 19, CHTA released the following updates by the Caribbean Tourism Organization:

Commonwealth of Dominica

On Sept 18, Hurricane Maria passed over the Dominica where Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit posted a statement stating that initial reports are of widespread devastation and the country will need all kinds of help. He suspested that the conditions of the air and seaports would be inoperable for a few days.

Trinidad and Tobago

The Government will be sending assistance to Dominica like sending a supply vessel and Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force personnel.

Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC)

PRTC issued a statement encouraging all industry stakeholders to finish all emergency preparations as soon as possible and safeguard the lives of all staff members and guests. The path of Hurricane María directly over Puerto Rico is imminent and will be a dangerous incident, the PRTC said in the following advisory:

Airport & Airline Information:

Airports
• The San Juan International Airport remains open. AEROSTAR is maintaining
regular operations until 7:00 pm.
• The airport is expected to reopen on Thursday once damages are assessed.
• A meeting will be held at 10:00am today (Tuesday morning), with airlines and
agencies involved. Operations schedule and updates will be communicated
throughout the day.

Airlines
• Each airline defines its flight schedule today and potential cancellations.
• Contact airlines’ 1-800 numbers or website for information for flight status and
arrangements.
• Travellers without flight arrangements should not head over to the airport, and
should instead call the airlines to confirm travel.

Important Note for Hotels
• Note that airport and major airlines will continue to operate flights weather
permitting. Last minute cancelations are expected as Hurricane María approaches.
We ask that all lodging partners consider that travelers whose flights are canceled
at the last minute, and have recently checked out, will need to quickly return to
safety.
• To lessen the possibility of having to handle tourists or visitors without lodging
arrangements, we strongly encourage you to allow guests that will be checking
out today, to promptly check in again if flight cancelations are experienced.
• If your property can enact this policy, please inform guests upon checkout so as to
minimize the possibility of having travelers without lodging arrangements in this
life-threatening situation.

PRTC Support
The PRTC HOTLINE is available for hotels, travellers and industry partners 24/7 at 1(877) 976-2400. Travellers can also contact a customer service representative via online chat at seepuertorico.com

Emergency Assistance
If you require emergency assistance, Madeline Santiago, the PRTC Interagency Emergency
Coordinator, can be reached at 787-525-4899 or at 787- 724-0124 ext. 30031 or 3000. (madeline.santiago@tourism.pr.gov)

Traveller & Industry Information:
Please refer travellers to www.puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com for updated information on weather, hotels, flights, cruises, island attractions, important contact information and links.

Agency Telephone
PRTC Hurricane Hotline for Hotels, Guests and Industry Partners 1(877) 976-2400
Madeline Santiago, PRTC, Interagency Emergency Coordinator, 787-525-4899
The Puerto Rico State Agency for Emergency and Disaster Management 787-724-0124
FEMA 787-296-3500
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority 787-289-3434
The Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps 787-343-2330
Puerto Rico National Weather Service 787-253-4586
Police Department 787-343-2020
Red Cross 787-758-8150
Puerto Rico Water Authority 787-620-2482

Lodging Preparedness:
• The most dangerous part of this system will be crossing directly over Puerto Rico.
• Please identify safe zones within hotel properties that can shelter guests and staff during the peak of the storm.
• Monitor the hurricane path closely and make sure to inform guests and staff of the approximate time when they should report to the previously identified safe zones.
• Ensure preparedness measures are in place by 3:00P.M. on Tuesday,
September 20 for tourism businesses located on mainland Puerto Rico.
Vieques and Culebra properties should have already enacted full emergency protocols.

Attractions:
 Casinos are now closed (effective at 5:30am on Tuesday, September 19).
 Opening times are yet to be confirmed but tentatively scheduled for Friday, September 22 at 11:20am or 7:30pm.
 All other major tourist attractions remain closed.

Martinique

According to the Airport Management Team of Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport the airport received no damage and was open as of the morning of September 19.

 

As reported by Travelweek, RIU is reporting only damage caused by Maria at its hotels in Punta Cana and Puerto Plata however their 8 hotels in Dominican Republic will be 100% operational as of Sep 21.

AMResorts is going outside of its traditional policy as a preventive action for the care and concern of its guests, putting its inclement weather policy in place for in-house or arriving guests travelling to and from all AMResorts properties within the D.R. The policy is outlined at amresorts.com/inclement-weather.

Bahia Principe

Following the instructions and recommendations from the Dominican Republic government regarding Hurricane Maria and based on the continuous monitoring of its evolution in the upcoming hours, Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts has taken the following precautionary steps to prioritize the safety and comfort of our guests:

• Relocate guests from Luxury Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado and Luxury Bahia Principe Samana, both located in Samana and with a total of 145 rooms, to Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar Green in Punta Cana.

• Activate the Dominican Republic’s security and alert protocol to all properties in the country which includes, among other measures, ensuring guests stay inside their rooms during the storm, closure of beaches and common areas and increased distribution of provisions.

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort is focused on the safety and security of our guests and staff as we prepare for Hurricane Maria. At this time, we have waived cancellation fees for upcoming stays and are not accepting any new reservations though Saturday, September 23rd. We strongly encourage any guests who have existing reservations for this week to work with us to reschedule. If you have questions pertaining to an existing or upcoming reservation, please contact us at 787-888-6000.

AIR CANDA

Air Canada has implemented a goodwill policy for customers whose itinerary includes a flight impacted by Hurricane Maria. If travel is affected, Air Canada is allowing flights to be changed to another date free of charge or choose to travel to another destination. The following is a list provided by Air Canada which details which airports are impacted:

 WESTJET 

 

As reported by Travelweek, WestJet has a travel advisory for BGI, SXM, UVF, POS, PUJ, POP and AZS, for passengers who booked on or before Sept. 16 for travel until Sept. 25.

WestJet air bookings

GDS bookings: There is no need for agents to call to receive a waiver code to waive a change fee for their client, use the code *MARIA0917* in the endorsement field. If your client was scheduled to travel during the dates above, and you have cancelled their booking and it is left in unused status, use the same generic waiver code to waive the change fee when you rebook within the next 12 months.

WestJet notes that this is an exception due to the extenuating circumstances and any violations outside of the approved exception will result in a debit memo.

WestJet Agent (TA Web) bookings: For clients that are impacted and wish to either cancel or exchange their ticket without a change fee agents will need to contact the Travel Support Team at 1-877-664-3205.

WestJet Vacation bookings

SIREV/Revnet/Contact centre bookings: For clients that are impacted and wish to either cancel or exchange their package without a change or cancel fee, call the Travel Support Team at 1-877-664-3205.

SUNWING

The Dominican Republic is currently under a hurricane warning. All flights into Puerto Plata and Punta Cana have been suspended until September 22nd. Flexible policies are in place for customers with travel plans to these destinations to rebook or change destination. Sunwing also developed a contingency plan which will be actioned, if necessary, to deploy rescue flights to repatriate all customers currently in Dominican Republic by Wednesday in advance of the storm’s potential landfall.

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TRANSAT

Due to the impacts caused by the passage of Hurricane Maria, scheduled flights on Sept. 21 and 22 to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, departing from Toronto, Montreal and Quebec are cancelled. Customers affected by these flight cancellations will all be contacted and may travel at a later date; travel to another destination, subject to certain conditions; or cancel with full refund (excluding travel insurance costs when purchased).

Air Transat has launched an evacuation operation to get all its travellers out of the Dominican Republic by sending a total of 8 aircraft to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Samana. Three aircraft are expected to arrive in Puerto Plata and Samana in the evening today and five in Punta Cana tomorrow morning. The evacuation procedure applies regardless of the return date indicated on the Air Transat ticket.
This operation will allow close to 2 200 passengers to be repatriated.

Here are the details of scheduled flights departing from Puerto Plata and Samana

RESCUE FLIGHT FROM PUERTO PLATA TO MONTREAL AND TORONTO
Date September 19, 2017
Departure from Puerto Plata to Montreal TS1895 20:20 – 00:30
Departure from Puerto Plata to Toronto TS1845 20:35 – 00:45

RESCUE FLIGHT FROM SAMANA TO MONTREAL
Date September 19, 2017
Departure from Samana to Montreal TS1879 20:35 – 00:55

Here are the details of scheduled flights departing from Punta Cana

RESCUE FLIGHT FROM PUNTA CANA TO MONTREAL, QUEBEC AND TORONTO
Date September 20, 2017
Departure from Punta Cana to Montreal TS1419 9:30 – 13:50
Departure from Punta Cana to Montreal TS1641 9:45 – 14:05
Departure from Punta Cana to Quebec TS1287 9:35 – 14:05
Departure from Punta Cana to Toronto TS1833 9:35 – 13:45
Departure from Punta Cana to Toronto TS1829 10:00 – 14:10

Canceled flights and Hurricane Policy

Please note that scheduled flights on September 21 and 22 to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, departing from Toronto, Montreal and Quebec are canceled. Customers affected by these flight cancellations will all be contacted and may (i) travel at a later date; (ii) travel to another destination, subject to certain conditions; (iii) cancel with full refund (excluding travel insurance costs when purchased).
The company continues to closely monitor the development of Hurricane Maria.

Transat’s hurricane policy has been implemented for flights still scheduled to depart until September 25, 2017 to Dominican Republic.