Flight cancellations as Hurricane Beryl heads towards Caribbean

As Hurricane Beryl heads towards the south-east Caribbean, British airlines are cancelling flights – with one Virgin Atlantic plane taking off from Barbados five hours early on Sunday to avoid the approaching storm.

As of 4am UK time on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said: “Beryl remains a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane.

“Potentially life-threatening winds and storm surges are expected to hit parts of the Windward Islands soon.”

Winds of up to 130 mph are expected as Hurricane Beryl moves west.

Colin McCarthy, an extreme weather expert, said: “Hurricane Beryl has just become the first Category 4 hurricane in Atlantic history in June. We’ve never seen a hurricane this powerful this early in the season.”

The National Hurricane Center said: “A hurricane warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

“A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

“Preparations to protect lives and property must be completed as soon as possible.”

Additionally, a tropical storm warning is in effect for Martinique and Trinidad.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Due to the adverse weather conditions expected as a result of Hurricane Beryl, we are working with affected airports and partners to minimise disruption to our services. However, some flights are subject to delays and cancellations due to the closure of Barbados airport.

“We are reaching out to affected customers regarding their travel arrangements. We would like to thank them for their patience and understanding and recommend that all customers who are due to travel to or from Barbados airport in the next 48 hours check their flight status on virginatlantic.com before travelling to the airport.

“The safety and comfort of our customers and employees is always our top priority.”

The Sunday shuttle between Barbados and St. Vincent has been cancelled, and Monday’s London Heathrow-Barbados-St. Vincent return flight has been cancelled.

British Airways cancelled its flight from Gatwick to St Lucia and Georgetown in Guyana on Monday. BA said it would monitor the situation and only operate flights when it was safe to do so.