Travelsmart
TORONTO — Airlines are cancelling some flights to the Caribbean and even the mainland U.S. as Hurricane Matthew is expected to spin toward Florida later this week.
Hurricane Matthew was passing through the sparsely populated islands of the southern Bahamas early Wednesday after inflicting heavy damage on southwest Haiti. Forecasters said the storm was on track to roll directly over the Bahamian capital of Nassau before nearing the Florida coast.
By late Tuesday, American Airlines had cancelled about 120 flights through Saturday, a spokesman said. Nearly half were departures from Miami, mostly to Caribbean destinations.
Many airlines are letting passengers change travel plans without penalty if their trip might be affected by the hurricane, which pounded Haiti on Tuesday and caused flooding that was blamed for several deaths.
The offers come with conditions that vary by airlines. Customers usually have just a few extra days to complete their rescheduled trip.
The fee to change a nonrefundable ticket on United, American and Delta is typically $200 for domestic flights and usually more for international trips.
Travellers whose flights are cancelled can get a refund.
Any time a country or region imposes any sort of visa stipulation – even if it’s a waiver – the travel industry sighs a collective groan, knowing the obstacles and headaches to come.
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