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In case you missed it, one of the strongest hurricanes in a decade is churning in the Caribbean. After exploding to a category 5 (out of 5) hurricane over the weekend, Matthew has made a fateful turn north toward Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. Hurricane warnings have been issued for all four countries, indicating that hurricane-strength winds are expected in the next 24 hours.
While the 140 mph top wind speed is getting plenty of attention, the wind cone is rather compact on this hurricane. The biggest impact is likely to be from the torrential rain and coastal flooding. Current models show that the major hurricane could dump a devastating 25 inches of rain on poorly prepared Haiti. Meanwhile, models show a storm surge of 10-15 feet for the Bahamas — with even higher waves battering the coast. There’s little doubt that this is going to be a disastrous storm for the Caribbean.
If you have plans to head to Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas over the next few days, you’re going to want to change them. Thankfully, airlines are making it easy for you to do so. Check below to see if your carrier has issued a travel waiver. If so, you’ll be able to reschedule, change or even cancel your flights with no fees. Click on the airline name for more details about the airline’s current waiver.
American Airlines
Original travel dates: October 1-4
Airports covered:
- Cienfuegos, Cuba (CFG)
- Holguín, Cuba (HOG)
- Santa Clara, Cuba (SNU)
- Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (CAP)
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
- Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MJB)
- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS)
Delta Air Lines
Original travel dates: October 2-6
Airports covered:
- Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)
- Georgetown, Bahamas (GGT)
- Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS)
JetBlue Airlines
Original travel dates: October 2-6
Airports covered:
- Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)
- Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS)
- Santa Clara, Cuba (SNU)
Silver Airways
Original travel dates: October 4-5
Routes covered:
- Bimini -Fort Lauderdale
- Bimini – Miami
- Freeport – Fort Lauderdale
- Governors Harbour – Fort Lauderdale
- Great Exuma Island – Fort Lauderdale
- Marsh Harbour – Fort Lauderdale
- Marsh Harbour – Jacksonville
- Marsh Harbour – Orlando
- Marsh Harbour – Tampa
- Marsh Harbour – West Palm Beach
- Nassau – Fort Myers
- Nassau – Jacksonville
- Nassau – Tampa
- Nassau – West Palm
- North Eleuthera – Fort Lauderdale
- North Eleuthera – Orlando
- Treasure Cay – Fort Lauderdale
Southwest Airlines
Original travel dates: all
Airports covered: all
As Southwest allows you to cancel your flight up to 10 minutes before scheduled departure, you can cancel and rebook your flights at any time.
Spirit Airlines
Original travel dates: October 2-3
Airports covered:
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
As of publishing, the following airlines haven’t released travel waivers for this storm: Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines, United Airlines
Source: thepointsguy.com