Continental Airlines Moving Stranded Tourists out of Mexico´s Yucatan Peninsula

Continental Airlines is providing extra capacity at Merida, Mexico, to assist in evacuating tourists from the Yucatan Peninsula in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma. Continental is currently the only U.S. carrier operating out of the Yucatan.

The Cancun and Cozumel airports are currently closed. Many evacuees are traveling by land from Cancun and Cozumel to Merida to seek flights. The U.S. State Department has arranged ground transportation to help some evacuees reach Merida.

During this time of year, Continental normally operates an average of five daily departures from Cancun and one daily flight from Cozumel. Continental normally operates three flights per week from Merida to Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Continental operated four evacuation flights from Merida on Monday and will operate three extra flights to help evacuate as many travelers as possible.