Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has urged Caymanian students in Florida to return to Cayman as soon as possible as Hurricane Milton, which is now a Category 5 storm, bears down on the state.
Warning them of the enormity and strength of the hurricane, while speaking in Parliament Monday, she encouraged them to take advantage of an evacuation flight put on by Cayman Airways.
Noting that Tampa International Airport had announced that it will close on Tuesday morning, O’Connor-Connolly said there were still seats available on Monday night’s CAL flight from that airport.
“Those of us in the Cayman Islands are paying close attention to [the hurricane], not because it’s being directed to our territory, but there are many Caymanians, in particular, students, who are there [in Florida],” she said.
She asked Caymanians in the path of the storm to take it seriously. “We cannot force students to come back, if they choose to find shelter in place, but we would strongly urge and encourage them to come home,” she said.
Cayman Airways, in an advisory on Monday morning, said seats were still available on the Tampa flight, which will depart at 9pm, but noted that seats were limited and were filling up quickly.
“Our regularly scheduled flights are fully booked, and this extra flight has been added to accommodate anyone wishing to evacuate the Tampa area ahead of the expected arrival of major Hurricane Milton,” the airline said.
Tampa International Airport announced Monday that it will suspend operations at 9am Tuesday.
Airports in Orlando and St. Petersburg have also announced they will close ahead of the storm, which is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday.
Tickets for the flight can be purchased by visiting www.caymanairways.com, by contacting a travel professional, or by calling Cayman Airways Reservations on 345-949-2311 or 1-800-422-9626 (toll free in the US).
Waiving change fees
The airline is also waiving its flight change fees for those whose travel plans are impacted by the storm.
Hurricane Milton is forecast to strike the US fewer than two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused widespread damage and killed more than 200 people. It is predicted to hit the Tampa Bay area, before moving over Orlando.
Much of Florida’s west coast is under hurricane and storm surge watches, and forecasters are warning of storm surges of between 8 feet and 12 feet in Tampa Bay.
Milton intensified quickly Monday over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. According to weather updates at noon on Monday, it had maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, with the centre of the storm located 720 miles southwest of Tampa at midday, moving east-southeast at 9 mph.
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