Irene caused some visitor disruptions when it arrived Aug. 21 as a tropical storm and caused more trouble this past weekend when travelers couldn’t get into the territory or fly out because the storm was pounding the East Coast.
“We had some people who couldn’t leave and some people who didn’t want to leave, so they extended their stay,” Tourism Department spokesman Allegra Kean-Moorehead said Monday.
There are no numbers as to those affected, but both Lisa Hamilton, president of the V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association, and Bolongo Bay Beach Resort Manager Richard Doumeng said it was probably a wash because the number of people stranded in the territory was close to the number who couldn’t get in.
Hamilton also said that there have been a minimal number of cancellations related to Irene’s passage up the East Coast.
Whether those guests can cancel without penalty varies. Doumeng said that visitors who booked directly with Bolongo won’t face any cancellation charges, but those who booked with a wholesale company or an internet travel agency, like Expedia, may face charges, depending on the particular company’s policies.
“But I think companies are much more lenient,” Doumeng said.
When those that are stranded in the territory are going to be able to fly out remains an issue. Doumeng said he has one guest who was supposed to depart Aug. 28, but American Airlines told him that he wouldn’t be able to leave until Sunday. Hamilton said she knows of one guest who was supposed to leave Wednesday but now will fly also fly out Sunday.
At the Buccaneer Hotel on St. Croix, marketing manager Vicki Locke said they had no guests who couldn’t arrive when planned, but three families had to stay an extra two nights in order to fly home.
U.S. Airways spokesman Valerie Wunder had no specifics on the situation in the Virgin Islands, but she said that operations for the airline were back to normal Monday morning except for JFK and Newark Liberty International airports. She expected those two airports to begin normal operations Monday afternoon.
American Airlines spokesperson Dori Alvarez had no information on the situation at any of the territory’s two airports.
V.I. Port Authority spokesman Monifa Marrero said she also had no information on how long passengers would have to wait to fly out.
Doumeng noted the irony that a hurricane on the mainland caused a disruption when it’s usually the other way around.
In talking about Irene’s impacts, Doumeng said that he was on an American Airlines flight from Miami Aug. 21 that tried to land at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. The winds were so strong, that the pilot was forced to abort the approach to the runway.
Doumeng said the flight went on to Puerto Rico, where he rode out Irene at an airport hotel on American’s tab. He said a U.S. Airways flight suffered the same problem and returned to Charlotte, N.C.
