Hurricane Melissa: how it affects Argentinians' travel to the Caribbean

After reaching category 5 and making landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday the 28th, Hurricane Melissa - which is causing enormous concern throughout the Caribbean area - reached Cuba in the early hours of Wednesday the 29th as a category 3 hurricane.

This is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history , which devastated Jamaica after suffering gusts of up to 295 kilometers per hour.

Flash floods, torrential rains, and powerful winds forced Jamaicans and tourists to seek shelter. In Jamaica, these are already considered the most powerful and destructive storms since records began 174 years ago .

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane. The real question will be the speed of recovery,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated hours ago in a post on his social media profile.

For his part, the Argentine ambassador to Jamaica , Marcelo Balbi Calvo, reassured the public by stating that at the moment "there are about 70 Argentine tourists on the island, staying in buildings considered safe."

US airlines activated waivers (allowing passengers to change or cancel flights free of charge) for flights to and from Jamaica. Meanwhile, Jamaica's main airports in Kingston and Montego Bay were closed to international traffic when the hurricane made landfall.

In Cuba, authorities evacuated more than 735,000 people in the eastern region ahead of Melissa's arrival.

Severe flooding is currently affecting the streets as the hurricane moves across the island. Coastal areas are on high alert due to the threat of high tides, extreme winds, and more rain.

With a sharp increase in international travel over the past year, flights to the Caribbean are a concern these days.

From the All Seasons agency, manager Pablo Bazzetti explains that "we don't have a lot of sales in Jamaica and Cuba, which are precisely the ones most affected right now by the hurricane. We are more focused on destinations in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexican Caribbean and the Dominican Republic."

"While it may be raining in those places -because obviously the hurricane changes the climate of the area-, we are not experiencing a massive cancellation of reservations ," he added.

According to what Clarín was able to find out, there are no cancellations from Ezeiza International Airport to Caribbean destinations.

However, flights to the city of Miami, in the state of Florida (United States), are taking the route over the Pacific to avoid the hurricane .

Copa Airlines flights to Panama, as can be seen on the departures and arrivals board, appear unaffected.

Aerolíneas Argentinas reported that Miami International Airport is operational. However, they stated that "flights are operating on a different flight plan than usual: the storm is being avoided by flying west, so the journey to Miami is taking 11 hours." The flight typically takes between 8 and 9 hours.

As for Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), one of the booming destinations for Argentine travelers, Aerolineas Argentinas took off on schedule on Tuesday the 28th and has no other flight until next Sunday .

And the flight to Cancun (Mexico) "is scheduled to depart normally tonight at 11:25 p.m.; the next flight will not be until November 1st."