LIAT gears up for Hurricane Omar

LIAT, the Caribbean Airline has been forced to suspend some services to and from islands north of Antigua due to expected passage of Hurricane Omar over the North Eastern Caribbean late today, Wednesday October 15.

The Airline has with immediate effect advised the suspension of the following services:

Today:  Wednesday October 15th:

LI312/317 (St Maarten – St Croix – St Maarten sectors only)
LI368/329 (Antigua – Anguilla - St Thomas- St Maarten – Antigua)
LI384 (St Lucia – San Juan)
LI508/509 (Antigua – St Maarten – Tortola – St Maarten – Antigua)
LI510/511 (Antigua - Tortola - San Juan - Tortola - Antigua)
LI512 (Antigua - St Kitts - St Maarten - Tortola)
LI771/772 (Port of Spain – Curacao – Port of Spain)

LI383 Now operates:  San Juan – Antigua – St Lucia – St Vincent

Tomorrow:  Thursday  October 16th:

LI504/503  (Antigua – St Kitts – St Maarten – St Kitts – Antigua)   ~~Adz:Right~~

LI521 (Tortola - St Maarten - Antigua)

Passengers should continue to check with their nearest airport for further updates.

CEO, Mark Darby stressed that the safety of LIAT’s passengers was paramount in the decision.

“I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but hope that our passengers will understand that their safety is our number one concern and that we have to be very cautious operating near powerful storm systems. We will as always do our best to minimize disruption to our schedule,” Darby said.

The CEO advised that the best course of action available to affected passengers would be to have their flights rebooked at no extra charge to them. He said further cancellations could become necessary and further advised passengers whose journey would take them into the affected zone to alter their plans.

“If your journey today takes you to/from or through the zone likely to be affected by the storm, (St. Kitts/Nevis, Anguilla, St. Marten, St. Croix, St. Thomas, BVI/Tortola, Puerto Rico) you are advised not to commence your journey.  We will re-book you on the next available service once the storm has passed (at no extra charge).  However, if you decide to travel on your originally booked service but are unable to complete your journey due to disruption caused by weather conditions, LIAT will not be responsible for providing any overnight accommodation, meals, transport, or other expenses that may result,” Darby said.

According to the National Hurricane Centre’s website it is expected that no matter how the system develops it will bring strong winds and very heavy rain over the next 24 to 36 hours to the Leeward and Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.