Quebec travelers were on alert Thursday morning at Montreal-Trudeau airport, waiting for their flight to Cuba, which was affected by Hurricane Rafael on Wednesday evening.
• Also read: Category 3 hurricane “Rafael” leaves the island of Cuba
• Also read: New collapse of the electricity system: Cubans deprived of electricity for a second time in two weeks
Thousands of Cuban residents are still without electricity Thursday morning, due to the winds of Hurricane “Rafael” which affected electrical infrastructure Wednesday evening.
«Rafael made landfall in the Cuban province of Artemisa,” west of Havana, “with sustained winds of nearly 185 km/h,” said the National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in the United States. , in its bulletin published at 4:15 p.m.
During its passage over the island, the category 3 (out of 5) hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale caused a general blackout. “The violent winds caused by the high-intensity hurricane Rafael led to the disconnection of the national electricity system,” the national electricity company (EU) declared on X, according to AFP.
“The destruction of generators and the neutralization of transmission lines caused the collapse of the electrical system,” Lazaro Guerra, director of electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Energy, told state television a little later. of Mines.
Canceled and delayed flights
Flights at Montreal-Trudeau airport, towards Varadero, Cuba, which were initially scheduled for Wednesday, were also postponed to Thursday due to the arrival of the category 3 hurricane.
Varadero airport closed its doors on Wednesday evening and canceled several flights, in preparation for the arrival of “Rafael”.
It should reopen around noon, according to the latest information available on its website.
Travelers still had to be patient in Montreal, because their flight was once again postponed by a few hours.
Power outage
If power is not restored to Cuba by their arrival, travelers are expected to land in the dark.
Most have taken precautions and checked with the resort where they will be staying to ensure a generator is available.
The passage of hurricanes or tropical storms in tourist destinations like Cuba brings additional challenges and costs for air carriers.
“It generates a lot of costs since the passengers are the responsibility of the airline […] All these delays and these detours to other airports generate very significant costs and monumental disorganization,” explains the director of the International Civil Aviation Aeronautics Observatory, Mehran Ebrahimi.
– With information from AFP. See the full explanation above.
