Hurricane Odile: Airline set to fly L.A.-Los Cabos when airport reopens

Alaska Airlines plans to resume service from Los Angeles to Los Cabos’ airport on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula on the day the facility is expected to reopen next month.

Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) has been making repairs since Hurricane Odile slammed the resort area Sept. 14. The storm tore the roof off one terminal and damaged the ceiling of another, officials said.

Delta Air Lines says it plans to resume service to Los Cabos International Airport on Oct. 9.

Alaska Airlines said it will begin service with a single round-trip flight Oct. 8, provided the airport opens as scheduled. Flights are planned from Los Angeles at 10:10 a.m. and from Los Cabos at 2:25 p.m.

“In the following week, we will assess adding more service to Los Cabos from other cities and look forward to increasing our schedule gradually,� Joe Sprague, senior vice president of communications and external relations for Alaska Airlines, said in an airline blog post.

Other airlines have halted service to and from the airport until mid-October.

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways canceled flights through Oct. 14 and American Airlines through Oct. 17. Delta Air Lines says it plans to resume service from Salt Lake City on Oct. 9 and from Atlanta on Oct. 10. Airlines have waived change fees and say affected passengers may request a refund or reschedule their travel.

Rain and flooding forced evacuations of 30,000 tourists in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas after the Category 3 hurricane hit the region. At least five people, including a British couple on a yacht off the coast when the storm hit, have died as a result of the storm.

Last week, the Mexico Tourism Board said about 35% of power had been restored in Cabo San Lucas and that full power expected by the end of this week, a Travel Weekly report said. Some resort hotels remain closed because of hurricane damage.

Officials in the nearby cities of La Paz and Loreto reported that airports in each town were open and that electricity and water have been fully restored.