Hurricane Polo remains a category 5 storm as it tracks toward Mexico’s Los Cabos, Typhoon Dujuan’s death toll has risen to nine as Japan’s transport network recovers, and Belgium’s Charleroi Airport has suspended its air traffic control strike for mediation talks. Here is today’s wrap of the disruptions affecting travel, plus the Spanish airport strikes still running.
Hurricane Polo weakens as it nears Los Cabos, port closed
Hurricane Polo remains a category 5 storm, with the US National Hurricane Center recording maximum sustained winds of around 270 kilometres per hour as it drifts roughly 340 kilometres south of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. The storm is forecast to curve north-west over the coming days and weaken to category 3 strength by Sunday as it nears Los Cabos, passing an estimated 370 kilometres to the south-west. Mexico’s Navy closed the port of Cabo San Lucas to small vessels from midnight on Tuesday and ordered boats without a deck removed from the water, with beaches closed under red-flag warnings. Los Cabos International Airport is expected to keep operating, but airlines may adjust schedules as the storm approaches, so clients travelling to Los Cabos or Puerto Vallarta this week should confirm flight times directly with their airline.
Typhoon Dujuan death toll rises to nine as Japan’s transport network recovers
The death toll from Typhoon Dujuan has risen to at least nine, with several people still missing across Japan’s Kanto region after landslides and flooding in Chiba and Kanagawa. Most airport and long-distance rail operations, including Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports and Tokaido Shinkansen services, have now resumed and are running broadly as normal, after several hundred domestic flights were cancelled by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways during the storm’s peak over the Silver Week holiday. Residual delays and last-minute changes remain possible on regional flights and local train lines through the worst-affected districts. Clients with onward travel through Chiba or eastern Tokyo this week should still allow extra time and check services locally before connecting.
Charleroi air traffic control strike suspended for mediation
Air traffic controllers at Brussels South Charleroi Airport have suspended their nightly strike action to enter mediation talks, after Belgian Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke proposed an external mediator earlier this week. The strike had run every night from 10pm to 8am since 16 September, cancelling more than 200 flights, most operated by Ryanair. The suspension should reduce the risk of further overnight cancellations, though airlines may still need time to restore schedules disrupted by more than a week of action, and no date has been set for the talks to conclude. Clients flying through Charleroi in the coming days should still check flight status before travelling, in case the strike resumes without much notice.
Spain’s airport strikes persist, with Madrid’s baggage stoppage back today
Ground-handling staff at Barcelona’s El Prat airport remain on indefinite strike, with Groundforce workers now past the one-month mark since the dispute began on 4 August and continuing to cause flight cancellations and baggage delays. At Madrid’s Barajas airport, recurring stoppages on the automated baggage system fall on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, meaning today is one of the affected days. Neither dispute has a resolution date confirmed. Agents with clients transiting through either Spanish hub this week should build in extra time for check-in and baggage collection, and confirm current flight status directly with the airline before departure.
