Travelers heading into Jamaica’s busy winter sun season are still feeling the ripple effects of Hurricane Melissa, with ongoing infrastructure work at Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport affecting flight operations, connection times, and the overall passenger experience along one of the Caribbean’s most important holiday corridors.

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Montego Bay Airport Still Recovering From Direct Hurricane Hit

Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay absorbed the worst of Hurricane Melissa’s impact when the storm roared across Jamaica in late October as a Category 5 system.

Photos and official accounts describe heavy structural damage, including torn roofing, interior flooding, and outages to key systems that forced a multi-day shutdown to passenger traffic.

Relief flights began operating from Montego Bay from October 30, with limited commercial services resuming soon after, but authorities and airport operators have been clear that full restoration will be a months-long process rather than an overnight fix.

Government briefings and airport statements indicate that while runways, security systems, and core terminal functions are back online, sections of the passenger complex remain under repair.

Transport officials in Kingston have said that repair and reinforcement works at Sangster will run into February and March 2026. For travelers, that means a functioning but still partially constrained airport: fewer boarding gates than normal, some facilities behind temporary partitions, and intermittent crowding at pinch points such as security and immigration during peak holiday waves.

From Closure To Limited Operations: How Flight Disruptions Unfolded

In the days leading up to Melissa’s landfall, major carriers serving Jamaica issued travel alerts and began proactively cancelling flights into Montego Bay and Kingston. Airlines such as American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta, Southwest, TUI and Virgin Atlantic adjusted schedules, activated hurricane waivers, and suspended some services to protect passengers and crews from the approaching storm and its aftermath.

Once Melissa crossed the island, air travel dropped sharply, with traffic data from late October and early November showing double-digit declines in passenger movements at both Sangster International and Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport.

Notices to airmen temporarily limited operations, and commercial flights only resumed once safety checks on runways, navigation aids and terminal infrastructure were complete.

While Kingston and Ocho Rios returned relatively quickly to near-normal aviation activity, Montego Bay’s heavier infrastructure damage has left airlines operating with less margin for disruption.

Schedules have been rebuilt, but flight timings remain more susceptible to knock-on delays, particularly when bad weather elsewhere, crew rotations or maintenance issues coincide with gate and space constraints on the ground.

Sustained Disruption Along The Caribbean Holiday Corridor

Montego Bay is the primary international gateway for Jamaica’s north and west coasts, handling more than two-thirds of leisure arrivals to resort areas such as Negril, Montego Bay’s Hip Strip, Trelawny, and parts of the north coast toward Ocho Rios.

When Sangster operates at reduced capacity, the effects are felt across the wider Caribbean holiday corridor, from outbound hubs in North America and Europe to neighboring islands that share aircraft rotations and crew bases.

Even as official notices now classify Jamaica’s airports as “open” and “operational,” the mix of partial repairs, re-routed passenger flows and compressed gate availability can translate into irregular operations.

Travelers may see retimed departures, tighter connection windows being blocked by airline systems, and more frequent use of remote stands or bus boarding at Montego Bay compared with pre-hurricane seasons.

Industry analysts note that such sustained disruptions often linger long after the storm headlines fade. Carriers rebuilding their Caribbean schedules must balance restored demand with the realities of infrastructure under repair, leading to fine-tuned capacity, slightly trimmed frequencies, and contingency buffers built into flying programs to and from Jamaica and nearby islands that share aircraft and crew pools.

Operational Adjustments: How Airlines Are Managing The Strain

Airlines have responded to the Montego Bay bottleneck with a mix of schedule redesign, aircraft deployment changes, and flexible customer policies. Some operators have shifted a portion of Jamaica-bound capacity to Kingston, encouraging travelers with more flexible itineraries to use Norman Manley International as an alternate gateway, especially for visits that include Kingston, Port Antonio, or the south coast.

Others have maintained their core Montego Bay schedules but padded turnaround times to prevent minor ground delays from cascading into major network disruptions. This approach keeps more flights on the board but can create longer sits between inbound and outbound services, particularly for aircraft cycling through multiple Caribbean points in a day.

Travel alerts from large North American and European carriers continue to mention possible delays and the need to rebook in the event of schedule changes linked to post-hurricane recovery.

Waiver policies that were initially framed around Melissa’s landfall dates have evolved into more targeted options, allowing passengers whose Montego Bay flights are significantly retimed or cancelled to change travel dates or routings without standard penalties in certain fare categories.

Charter and leisure operators, including tour-package airlines, have in some cases consolidated departures or temporarily rerouted holiday flights to other Caribbean destinations while demand and on-the-ground logistics stabilize. Industry sources say the emphasis is on preserving reliability and avoiding day-of-travel chaos, even if that means offering rebooked vacations or alternative resorts to some customers.

Passenger Experience: Longer Queues, Rebookings And Contingency Planning

For travelers, the most visible signs of Montego Bay’s ongoing recovery are inside the terminal. Reports from recent arrivals describe busy check-in halls at peak times, with staff marshaling queues to ease congestion around construction zones and areas still undergoing repair.

Security, immigration, and customs lines can become slow-moving during banked arrival and departure waves, particularly on weekends and school holidays.

Because several of Sangster’s gates were knocked out of action by Melissa, airlines and ground handlers have had to juggle aircraft parking positions more aggressively.

This can result in last-minute gate changes, use of remote parking and bus transfers, and tighter sequencing of arrivals and departures, all of which add minutes to processing times and raise the risk of missed onward connections.

Travelers connecting through Montego Bay to other Caribbean islands or onward long-haul flights are being advised by travel agents and some carriers to build in extra buffer time. Where minimum connection times were once considered sufficient, many advisers now suggest longer layovers to account for potential delays in disembarkation, baggage transfer and security re-screening.

At the same time, the island’s tourism authorities emphasize that core visitor services, including ground transfers, hotel shuttles and resort check-in operations, are running robustly.

However, the combination of ongoing road works in some western parishes and busier-than-usual airport processes means that total journey times from landing to hotel room door can still be noticeably longer than before the storm.

Government And Industry Push To Normalize Operations

Jamaican officials have highlighted the aviation sector as one of the standout performers in the national recovery from Hurricane Melissa. Transport and energy authorities say more than 3,000 flights were processed in the weeks following the storm as relief missions, repatriation services, and gradually expanding commercial operations worked in parallel.

To support humanitarian traffic, airport operators at Montego Bay and Kingston waived landing and parking fees for non-commercial relief flights transporting critical supplies and medical personnel.

Business aviation also played a significant role, with corporate and charter aircraft delivering aid to hard-hit communities and linking Jamaica with regional logistics hubs.

As of mid-December, both the tourism and transport ministries have publicly described airport operations as “normal” in functional terms, while acknowledging that physical restoration at Montego Bay will stretch into the first quarter of 2026.

Officials point to the rapid reopening of Norman Manley International and Ian Fleming International, along with the normalization of port activity and resort reopenings, as evidence of a strong overall recovery.

However, normalization at a policy level does not mean an immediate return to pre-storm traveler experience. With construction crews still active around parts of Sangster’s terminal and roofing, planners are working to sequence repairs to minimize disruption during the high-traffic festive season and the winter peak that follows in January and February.

Tourism Rebound Meets Infrastructure Constraints

Despite the turbulence, Jamaica’s tourism numbers have rebounded faster than many early forecasts suggested. Official figures released in recent days highlight roughly 300,000 arrivals since the hurricane, as airlines restored capacity and resorts reopened along the north and west coasts. Cruise ships have also returned to ports such as Ocho Rios, bringing day visitors back to attractions and tour operators.

Travel industry analysts describe the current situation as a “recovery under pressure,” with strong demand pouring into a system that is structurally sound but still partially impaired at its main gateway.

Hotel occupancy in key resort areas has risen steadily, and forward bookings for the first quarter of 2026 remain robust, indicating that Melissa’s long-term impact on Jamaica’s appeal as a Caribbean destination may be limited.

At the same time, operators acknowledge that higher-than-normal levels of rebooking and schedule reshuffling are likely to persist while Sangster’s infrastructure work continues.

This is particularly true around peak travel weekends, when a single aircraft delay can ripple through packed schedules and stress an already tight gate and ground-handling environment.

Travel agents and tour operators are adapting by proactively warning clients about possible congestion and advising them to allow extra time at departure and arrival. Some are steering risk-averse travelers, especially those with very short vacation windows, toward dates or routings that are less exposed to Montego Bay’s heaviest traffic spikes.

What Travelers Should Do Before Flying To Or Through Montego Bay

For passengers planning trips to, from or via Montego Bay in the coming weeks, the most important step is to treat the situation as a system under strain, rather than fully business as usual.

That begins with closely monitoring airline communications. Travelers should opt in to email, app and text alerts from their carrier and check flight status regularly during the 24 to 48 hours before departure.

Given the sustained disruption, travel experts recommend building flexibility into itineraries wherever possible. That may mean choosing flights with longer connection times, avoiding tight same-day links to cruises or important events, and considering travel insurance policies that explicitly cover weather-related and infrastructure-driven delays or cancellations.

On the ground, arriving passengers should be prepared for longer processing times at immigration and baggage claim, especially during weekend peaks. Booking private or shared transfers in advance, rather than relying solely on walk-up options, can help smooth the journey from airport to resort in periods of heavy demand or when road works slow traffic leaving Montego Bay.

For those with critical timing constraints, routing through Kingston instead of Montego Bay may be worth exploring, particularly if their destination includes the capital or the eastern side of the island.

While this may add driving time for some resort areas, Kingston’s lighter storm damage and less constrained airport infrastructure can offer more predictable airport processing at busy times.

FAQ

Q1. Is Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport currently open to commercial flights?
Yes. Sangster International Airport is open and handling commercial flights, but portions of the terminal and some gates remain under repair following Hurricane Melissa, which can affect how smoothly the airport processes peak traffic.

Q2. If my flight to Montego Bay is delayed or cancelled, can I rebook without penalty?
Many airlines introduced flexible rebooking policies tied to Hurricane Melissa and its aftermath. While broad waivers have narrowed over time, carriers generally continue to offer options if your specific flight is significantly delayed, retimed or cancelled, though the exact terms depend on your airline and ticket type.

Q3. Are there still widespread flight cancellations into Jamaica because of Hurricane Melissa?
Large-scale shutdowns have ended, but isolated cancellations and schedule changes still occur, particularly on routes that rely heavily on Montego Bay’s constrained gate and terminal capacity during peak hours.

Q4. Is it safer to fly into Kingston instead of Montego Bay right now?
Both airports are considered safe and operational. Kingston experienced less structural damage and is generally under less infrastructure pressure, so some travelers may find processes there smoother, especially when Montego Bay is experiencing heavy holiday traffic.

Q5. How early should I arrive at Montego Bay airport before my departing flight?
Airlines and travel advisers are encouraging passengers to arrive at least three hours before international departures from Montego Bay, and to consider even more time during peak holiday days due to potential congestion at check-in and security.

Q6. Are road transfers from Montego Bay to resorts affected by the hurricane damage?
Most main tourist corridors are open, but some western and north-coast routes have ongoing repair and clean-up work. This can mean longer transfer times, particularly during busy periods or adverse weather.

Q7. Have airlines reduced the number of flights to Jamaica for the winter season?
Some carriers temporarily trimmed frequencies or adjusted aircraft types in the immediate aftermath of Melissa, but overall capacity has been returning. The key issue now is less about whether flights exist and more about how smoothly they operate through a still-recovering Montego Bay hub.

Q8. What should I do if I have a tight connection through Montego Bay?
Where possible, consider rebooking to a longer connection or routing through a different hub. If you must keep a tight connection, stay in close contact with your airline, travel with carry-on luggage if feasible, and sit as close to the front of the aircraft as your ticket allows to speed up disembarkation.

Q9. Is it a good idea to buy travel insurance for trips to Jamaica right now?
Yes, comprehensive travel insurance that covers weather-related disruptions, schedule changes and missed connections is strongly recommended while Montego Bay’s infrastructure repairs continue and flight operations remain more vulnerable to delays.

Q10. Are cruise passengers sailing from or calling at Jamaica affected?
Cruise calls to ports such as Ocho Rios have largely resumed, but passengers flying into Jamaica to meet ships should build in extra buffer time in case of flight or transfer delays linked to the ongoing post-hurricane recovery at Montego Bay.