In the early hours of July 2, the United States National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, in the Eastern Caribbean after Storm Elsa strengthened to a new category, expecting winds with gusts close to 150 km/h.
Martinique, the southern coast of the Dominican Republic that goes from Cabo Engaño to the border with Haiti, and the entire coast of Haiti are currently under a tropical storm watch. This has led to the closure of airports in the region and the cancellation of a growing number of flights.
The administration of Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown (GAIA), Barbados, suspended all operations at 10:00 PM local time on Thursday 1, allowing access to its facilities only to essential personnel. «Passengers are encouraged to contact their airlines for information on their respective flights,» said Hadley Bourne, CEO of GAIA, Inc.
Video shows Meteorological Assistants Andre Cyrus and Dakarai Knight going out to take measurements from our plot for the 8 am observations in the midst of Hurricane Else storm-force winds and intense showers. https://t.co/XMTrCToduS via @FacebookWatch
— BarbadosMetServices (@BarbadosMet) July 2, 2021
For this airport, the main hub of the Eastern Caribbean, 38 flights (arrivals and departures) were expected today, of which 14 are already canceled. Kingstown Argyle International Airport, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, expected 18 flights today, but 6 are canceled at the moment.
In Granada, the Maurice Bishop International Airport already has four flights canceled out of the eight scheduled for today.
Caribbean Airlines, the main airline in the region reported the cancellation of four flights in the region so far: BW 205 from Grenada to Barbados, BW 204 en route Barbados – Saint Vincent – Granada, BW 214 en route Barbados – Ogle, and BW 215 from Ogle to Barbados.
American Airlines also issued an alert about its flights to Bridgetown, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent / Argyle.
