Strikes in the UK and a sprawling winter storm in North America are causing disruption amid a busy festive travel season for Cayman families.
It is the first time since COVID-19 that Cayman Islands residents have been able to travel freely at Christmas. And flights to and from the islands have been packed in the run-up to the holidays.
But anyone expecting smooth journeys, now that all travel restrictions have been lifted, could be in for a shock.
In the UK, the army has been called in to man airport check points amid a strike from Border Force officers over pay.
A rail strike, scheduled for Christmas Eve, is expected to cause further disruption for onward journeys on Saturday.
Meanwhile thousands of flights have been cancelled across the US and Canada as an intensifying storm brought frigid temperatures to huge swathes of the continent.
There have yet to be any cancellations out of Cayman but forecasters warn the worst is yet to come for the eastern seaboard of the US, while onward journeys to central and western states are already impacted. More than 3,400 flights had been cancelled and 200 million people, in the US, were under winter weather warnings at press time Friday morning, the New York Times reported.
The festive season is always a busy time for travel.
But for Cayman residents, the urge to get on a plane and reunite with relatives is especially strong this year, with the past two Christmases lost to lockdowns.
Fiona Brander, of Cayman firm Travel Pros, said she had seen a surge in bookings this year.
“I have definitely been busy booking flights around the world as people have been excited to spend Christmas with loved ones after the last two difficult years in the travel world,” she said.
Brander was among the hordes arriving at Gatwick airport on Thursday morning, to be greeted by soldiers standing in for striking Border Force staff.
Armed Forces personnel have been trained to fill critical roles – including driving ambulances and checking passports – amid a winter of strike action from public services in the UK.
Brander said the disruption for her and her fellow passengers had been surprisingly limited.
Despite the strikes, she said it was still “better than a good day at Miami airport”.
She said the army was quick, well-organised and friendly. But she cautioned, “Things could get worse in the coming days as I went through early morning on the first day”.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union – including staff at passport control – are at the start of eight days of strike action over pay, pensions and job security
Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports, and the port of Newhaven, will be affected, according to UK media reports.
A national rail strike from 3pm on Christmas Eve is expected to make travel within the UK extremely difficult. Rail workers are holding strikes from 3pm UK time until 6pm on 27 Dec.
Travel disruption in North America has so far primarily effected the west coast, with Seattle and Vancouver particularly impacted. But the storm is moving east, threatening gateway cities that service Cayman.
Toronto and New York have already been impacted by multiple flight cancellations. Nearly half of all flights in the US were delayed on Thursday, according to CNN.
In Canada, WestJet alone had cancelled 266 flights on Friday, the BBC reported.
In anticipation of travel disruptions, major airlines including United, Delta and American have offered to waive fees for travellers who wish to reschedule their flights.
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