Tropical Storm Franklin hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Monday night and could make landfall a second time as the Atlantic’s first hurricane of the 2017 season. The storm has also disrupted flights and cruise itineraries.
According to the latest forecast from Accuweather, the storm made landfall near Pulticub, Mexico, at approximately 11:45 P.M. EDT Monday. The storm will move back over open water Tuesday night and is forecast to strengthen into the Atlantic’s first hurricane of 2017 before making landfall a second time on Mexico’s Gulf Coast. The storm is expected to bring high wind and rain to Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize and northern Guatemala, with the heaviest rainfall expected across the eastern Yucatan.
ABC News reports that Mexican authorities have evacuated low-lying areas of the Caribbean coast, as well as closed airports and set up shelters.
Flight Updates
Several airlines have issued cancellation and change waivers in response to the storm.
Travelers can change their trip with no fee on American Airlines when traveling through Belize City, Belize; Cancun, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico; and Merida, Mexico. Travelers must have bought their ticket by August 7 for travel through August 9, and can travel through August 13 between the same city pair in the same cabin (or pay the difference).
United Airlines is waving the change fee and any difference in fare for travel through the same airports August 8 – 9, with rebooked travel to depart on or before August 13 in the originally ticketed cabin between the same city pair.
Cruise Itinerary Changes
Tropical Storm Franklin has also forced Carnival Cruise Line to alter itineraries on the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Fantasy, a representative from the cruise line tells Travel Agent.
On Carnival Breeze’s seven-day itinerary from Galveston, instead of calling at Cozumel, Belize and Roatan, Honduras, on August 8 through 10, the ship will call at Roatan, Belize and Cozumel August 9 through 10. The remainder of the days will be spent at sea.
On Carnival Fantasy’s five-day cruise from Mobile, the ship will reverse the order of its Costa Maya and Cozumel calls that were planned for August 9 and 10, calling at Cozumel first instead of Costa Maya.
Good to know: forecasters are predicting an above-average hurricane season, with the latest model calling for another 11 named storms through the end of this season.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for further updates on this developing story.
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