Caribbean Airports Closed in Wake of Hurricane Beryl

by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:10 AM ET, Wed July 3, 2024

UPDATE: 11:00 AM EST Wed July 3, 2024

Las Americas International Airport (AILA) in the Dominican Republic reported several canceled flights due to Hurricane Beryl. As of 11:00 AM, the half-island nation's Tropical Storm Warning was discontinued, but Avianca, American Airlines and Arajet are reporting canceled flights, as notified by Intelliguide.

These include:

AA 987 – Miami to Santo Domingo
AA 987 - Santo Domingo to Miami
AA 1154 – Miami to Santo Domingo
AA 1154 – Santo Domingo to Miami
DM 1091 – Santo Domingo to Kingston
DM 1092 – Kingston to Santo Domingo
AV 250 – Bogota to Santo Domingo
AV 251 – Santo Domingo to Bogota

The hurricane warning has been extended to include parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa to Cancun, so delays and cancellations are also expected there.

UPDATE: 8:30 AM EST Wed July 3, 2024

According to Kingston, Jamaica's Sangster International Airport, the airport closed on 11:59 p.m. local time on July 2 ahead of Hurricane Beryl's impact on the island. It expects to reopen July 3 or 4. On July 2, airlines added additional flights for travelers to evacuate prior to the hurricane's landfall.

according to another source, airlines including Delta, United and Air Canada added more flights to help travelers and resident evacuate from the Cayman Islands, according to another source. Additionally, those whose flights have been impacted in both Kingston and Grand Cayman are being offered waived change fees, travel waivers and more depending on their airline.

The Category 4 hurricane is expected to make landfall in Jamaica this afternoon, and reach the Cayman Islands in the evening or early Thursday morning.

Several airports in islands throughout Hurricane Beryl’s path of destruction have been closed.

On June 30th, Barbados’s Grantley Adams International Airport closed due to the severe weather, though the airport reopened to resume commercial flights today, July 2.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves spoke on Monday evening to notify the public that the Argyle International Airport will remain closed to commercial flights and will only be operational for relief aid until July 3 or July 4.

FlightAware reports five flights have been canceled that were supposed to depart from the airport in the past 24 hours.

“There is damage to the fence on the northern side of the airport, and we have some cleaning up to do,” said Prime Minister Gonsalves. “However, we will accept any aircraft that wishes to bring any specific emergency supplies. Hopefully, we will be back in business at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday.”

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada were hit severely overnight, cutting off power and water to the islands. There is no official count of casualties, though it’s likely some have died from the hurricane. Swells and flash flooding occurred in both island nations.

The hurricane is expected to reach Jamaica on Wednesday without a major weakening in strength. The Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay is planning to close at 11:59 p.m., July 2, 2024, and remain closed through July 3 to ensure safety.

Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dr. The Hon. Terrance Drew, posted his support for the impacted islands on X along with photos of the destruction, noting that CARICOM, the Caribbean Community comprising fifteen Caribbean member states and five associate members, will organize a relief response for the islands.