The recent Hurricane Melissa, over the North Atlantic Ocean, has resulted in significant disruptions and delays to aircraft flying over the North Atlantic, but has also inflicted significant damage to airports in the storm’s path, including aircraft that were on the ground.
One such airport is Montego Bay Airport in Jamaica, which has suffered considerable damage to a part of the terminal infrastructure, which will remain closed off until further restoration work can be carried out to the affected areas. Carriers such as 
American Airlines have already launched flights to transport relief aid and supplies.
Hurricane Melissa Causes Disruptions And Damages
The recent hurricane over the North Atlantic Ocean has resulted in significant disruptions to flights traversing one of the busiest flight corridors in the world, the North Atlantic Tracks, connecting North America and Europe. Apart from disruptions to flights, such severe storms can also cause chaos on the ground, often resulting in damages to ground infrastructures (such as airports).
Recent reports from AeroTelegraph indicate that the Caribbean Island nation of Jamaica has been significantly affected by the impacts of Hurricane Melissa, including the country’s main airport, Montego Bay Sangster International Airport (MBJ). Data from Flightradar24 at the time of writing shows that the airport is currently closed with no flights operating in or out of MBJ.
The significant weather and the danger it poses have resulted in multiple airlines such as Condor, Edelweiss and more, canceling services to and from the airport. A spokesperson of Condor Airlines shared the following statement with Simple Flying:
“We confirm that Condor flight DE2162 from Frankfurt to Montego Bay on Oct0ber 29, 2025, had to be canceled due to Hurricane Melissa and the resulting weather conditions. Guests were asked to contact Condor customer service for rebooking, cancellation, or refund options.
Damages To The Airport Infrastructure
While the airport has suffered some damage, as per the nation’s Transport Minister, as reported in the local publication, Jamaica Star, the damage represented online represents only a small portion of a large terminal structure.
The most extensive damage has been identified in the section of the terminal that has gates one through five, and therefore is said to be inoperable until significant maintenance is done. Reports also indicate that adjacent gates six and seven will also be closed for the time being. However, the remainder of the terminal infrastructure, which consists of 12 other gates, has suffered only minimal damage and therefore could be back in operation shortly.
While the airport has been closed for the past few days, and it still is for commercial operations, MBJ is set to open at 10:00 AM local time (UTC -5) for relief operations today. The latest media release from the airport states the following:
“Following the passage of the hurricane, a comprehensive assessment of the airport will be conducted to determine when it is safe to resume operations. Updates will be communicated promptly.”
Other Airports That Have Been Affected
Considering the scale and the path taken by Hurricane Melissa, a number of airports have been significantly impacted within the Caribbean region. Reports from ReliefWeb indicate that locations such as Jamaica, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos have been affected, which would mean the ground infrastructure at these places have also been impacted.
Airlines such as American Airlines are planning on operating a number of flights using their fleet of Boeing 737s to airports in these locations, carrying aid and relief supplies, but reportedly also customers. The services scheduled to Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) are as follows:
|
Flight |
Time |
Route |
Details |
|---|---|---|---|
|
AA9603 |
08:00 ET |
MIA – KIN |
Airline team members and relief supplies |
|
AA9602 |
09:59 ET |
MIA – KIN |
Customers and relief supplies |
|
AA9605 |
10:10 ET |
KIN – MIA |
Customers leaving Jamaica |
|
AA9604 |
12:20 ET |
KIN – MIA |
Customers leaving Jamaica |
The carrier also plans to operate a single round-trip service between Miami and Holguin Airport (HOG) in Cuba, two round-trip services between Miami and Providenciales International Airport (PLS) in Turks and Caicos, and a single round-trip flight between Charlotte and Providenciales. The carrier is also reviewing other airports in the region and aims to launch services when it can safely do so. The carrier has previously enabled its AAdvantage Members to raise relief funds utilizing their loyalty points with the carrier.
The disruption has also impacted the operations of carriers in Europe, with carriers such as Virgin Atlantic having canceled their flights to Montego for the past few days. Due to the uncertainty of the weather, the airline has offered its affected customers flexibility to amend their itineraries as far as November 3.
