Typhoon Dujuan has battered eastern Japan, a telecommunications fault has snarled air traffic across the north-eastern United States, and Hurricane Polo is forecast to intensify rapidly off Mexico’s Pacific coast this week. Here is today’s wrap of the disruptions affecting travel, plus the strikes and advisories still in play.
Typhoon Dujuan disrupts Japan’s Silver Week travel
Typhoon Dujuan has battered eastern Japan, with Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports seeing at least 275 flight cancellations between Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, and hundreds more delayed. East Japan Railway (JR East) suspended sections of its network in Chiba, Ibaraki and western Tokyo, and Tokaido Shinkansen services between Tokyo and Osaka faced delays and cancellations. Authorities issued their highest-level landslide alert, level 5, for the Izu Islands, and the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that rainfall through Tuesday could exceed the region’s average for the whole of September. The disruption lands in the middle of Japan’s five-day Silver Week holiday, one of the country’s busiest domestic travel periods. Clients flying through Tokyo should check flight status directly with their airline before heading to the airport.
Telecoms fault grounds flights across the US north-east
A fibre-optic line cut by an Amtrak construction crew in New Jersey caused a telecommunications outage that forced the Federal Aviation Administration to pause flights across the north-eastern United States, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The outage disabled equipment that uses radar and radio to guide aircraft. Newark, JFK and Teterboro airports had flights paused, while LaGuardia and Philadelphia were resuming as of Monday afternoon. Boston’s Logan Airport, though not one of the airports where the outage itself paused flights, recorded more than 400 delays and 65-plus cancellations as diverted flights, a low cloud ceiling and ongoing runway works combined to slow its schedule; Delta and JetBlue each logged more than 50 delays out of Boston. A spokesperson for Massport, which runs Logan Airport, urged passengers to “check with their airline before coming to the airport.”
Hurricane Polo threatens category 5 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast
Hurricane Polo is forecast to intensify rapidly this week, with the US National Hurricane Center expecting it to reach category 5 strength, with sustained winds of around 260 kilometres per hour, by Wednesday. Polo’s core is expected to remain offshore as it tracks past Guerrero, Colima and Michoacán, but Mexico’s National Meteorological Service is forecasting 75 to 150 millimetres of rain for Oaxaca and Guerrero, 50 to 75 millimetres for Michoacán and 25 to 50 millimetres for the coasts of Jalisco and Colima, raising the risk of flooding and landslides. A tropical storm watch is in place from Tecpan de Galeana, Guerrero, to Punta San Telmo, Michoacán, with dangerous surf and rip currents expected along the coast. Polo’s track beyond midweek is uncertain, with some forecast models suggesting it could later curve toward Baja California. Clients travelling along Mexico’s Pacific coast this week, including Puerto Vallarta, should watch for possible flight delays and monitor advisories from Mexico’s Civil Protection agency.
Airport strikes continue across Spain and Belgium
Ground-handling staff at Barcelona’s El Prat airport remain on indefinite strike, a dispute running since early August with no end date agreed, and Malaga’s terminal cleaning staff have also been on indefinite strike since early August. Madrid’s Barajas airport continues to see partial stoppages on its automated baggage system on several days each week. In Belgium, air traffic controllers at Brussels South Charleroi Airport have been striking nightly, from 10pm to 8am, since 16 September, with the action potentially continuing into October; overnight and early-morning flights are the most affected. Agents with clients booked through Italy in the coming fortnight should also note a planned nationwide strike by ENAV air traffic controllers and Techno Sky staff on 30 September, from 1pm to 5pm, flagged by Italian media as the month’s most disruptive day for Italian air travel.
Middle East advisory remains in place
Smartraveller continues to run a Global Alert on the travel and security impacts of the Middle East conflict, with a dedicated registration option live for clients travelling to, through or near Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. Advice levels vary significantly by country and can change with little notice, so agents should check the current advisory for each specific destination on an itinerary before departure, rather than relying on the regional alert alone.
