Cayman Airways at the Forefront of Evacuation Efforts

By Stuart Wilson

The national carrier for the Cayman Islands was at the forefront of the evacuation and safety efforts in preparation for Hurricane Beryl.

In addition to waiving change fees for ticket holders, Cayman Airways also adjusted its flight schedule, after the Cayman Airways Hurricane Committee met on Monday morning, July 1, 2024.

As a result, there evacuation flights were added, in addition to 5 flights being added on Tuesday July 2nd to make up for cancellations the following day, which was when Hurricane Beryl was forecasted to begin affecting the Cayman Islands as a Category 4 Hurricane.

Flights were also added on 3rd July, most of which ran between Miami and Grand Cayman, shuttling passengers away from harm.

To assist customers, the Cayman Airways Reservations Call Center based in Grand Cayman extended its hours until 10pm on July 2nd and 3rd, whilst the airlines’ Ticket Office on Grand Cayman extended its hours until 7pm on July 2, 2024.

To help make changing their travel plans even easier as Hurricane Beryl approached, Cayman Airways also extended the travel period for change fee and fare difference waivers.

In addition to changes to the flight schedule in Grand Cayman, Cayman Airways and Cayman Airways Express fleets were flown overseas on July 3rd as part of the airline’s strategic hurricane preparedness plans.

At the time, Capt. Dave Scott, Executive Vice President of Flight Operations & Chief Operations Officer, noted that the hurricane’s projected impact on the Cayman Islands fell on a day of the week when some flights were due to overnight at international airports anyway, which was an advantage for the airline’s hurricane preparedness plans.

“…We had one B737-8 jet that departed Grand Cayman as scheduled to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and that aircraft remains at LAX airport per usual overnight,” he explained.

“Likewise, we had one jet aircraft that departed as scheduled to the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York where it remained overnight per usual. The remaining two B737-8 jets were operating evacuation flights from Grand Cayman to Miami International Airport (MIA), so they will remained at MIA overnight for safety during the hurricane.”

For the Cayman Airways Express fleet, Capt. Scott said two Twin Otter aircraft and one Saab 340B+ aircraft were positioned at Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPA) in Miami overnight on Wednesday July 3, 2024.

He said the second Saab 340B+ aircraft was already positioned overseas where it has been undergoing  annual maintenance.

Mr. Fabian Whorms, President and CEO of Cayman Airways, stated: “We sincerely thank all of our employees for coming together so swiftly and professionally as we concentrated our focus on planning and implementing evacuation flights on behalf of the Cayman Islands Government and the local tourism industry.

“We particularly thank our pilots and flight attendants, as well as other key staff, who volunteered to travel overseas with our fleet, with or without their families, to help ensure the business continuity of our airline after this major hurricane.”

The airline was able to coordinate the earliest possible return of its fleet to the Cayman Islands after the passage of this hurricane with the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA).