Travel chaos has erupted in a few of Mexico’s hottest vacationer areas on Sunday, following a Mexican army operation to kill a prime drug cartel chief.
Mexican army officers killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, chief of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on Sunday February 22, Mexico’s Defense Ministry stated in a statement posted on X. The mission was carried out utilizing intelligence assist supplied by the US authorities, the Trump administration said.
News of El Mencho’s loss of life introduced a fast onset of violence all through Mexico’s western state of Jalisco, with organized crime teams setting buses on fireplace, blocking roads, and persevering with conflicts with the army, NCS reports.
As a consequence, the US Embassy in Mexico has suggested US vacationers in the next areas to shelter in place by way of Monday, February 23: Guadalajara (Jalisco), Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco/Nayarit), Ciudad Guzman (Jalisco), Cancun (Quintana Roo), Playa del Carmen (Quintana Roo), Cozumel (Quintana Roo), Reynosa (Tamaulipas state), Tijuana (Baja California), and Michoacan. The affected areas are positioned primarily in Western Mexico, in addition to the Yucatán Peninsula in the Southeast and two cities alongside the US-Mexico border (Tijuana and Reynosa). Popular locations together with Mexico City and Oaxaca, for instance, should not included in the federal government’s shelter in place advisory.
Flights to and from Jalisco’s airports, together with Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, had been largely suspended on February 22, leaving many worldwide vacationers stranded. Widespread flight cancellations and delays continued on Monday, February 23, however some worldwide air service resumed on Monday afternoon.
Here’s the newest on what vacationers ought to know concerning the ongoing state of affairs in Mexico.
What’s occurring at Jalisco’s airports?
Officials at Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) had been reassuring vacationers late on Sunday that the ability stays protected. “The situations reported in various parts of the State did not impact the airport’s internal operations or the safety within its facilities,” airport officers stated February 22 in a statement on X. “The airport is under the protection of personnel from the National Guard (GN) and the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA).”
However, whereas the Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airports stay operational, many airways are nonetheless suspending nearly all of their flights, and the hubs are troublesome to succeed in attributable to street closures in the world. “While no airports have been closed, roadblocks have impacted airline operations, with most domestic and international flights cancelled in both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta,” the US Embassy said on February 22. “All ride shares are suspended in Puerto Vallarta. Some businesses have suspended operations.”
As of Monday afternoon, there have been a complete of 74 canceled flights into and out of Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR), in accordance with FlightAware data, whereas close by Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) had 65 cancellations.
Many main carriers in the US, Canada, and Mexico are persevering with to droop their flights to and from the area by way of not less than Tuesday, February 24. However, some worldwide flights had been scheduled to restart in the area as of Monday afternoon.
Flight cancelations and journey waivers
Here’s a take a look at how airways in the US, Canada, and Mexico are responding to the state of affairs in Mexico:
Air Canada
Canada’s largest airline stated it will cancel all service to and from Puerto Vallarta on February 23. “The security situation in Puerto Vallarta is ongoing, and local authorities have issued a shelter-in-place order,” Air Canada stated in a statement on X. “We are monitoring the situation and are working to bring our customers back as soon as it is safe to do so. We will share more information as soon as possible.”