Commercial Flights Return to Los Cabos after Hurricane Odile

The return of commercial flights to the Los Cabos airport was met with fanfare and excitement, but everything isn’t quite back to normal in the resort area just yet.

Passengers who arrived at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) on a United Airlines flight Wednesday were greeted with a hero’s welcome. The United flight from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) marked the return of commercial airline service to SJD for the first time since Hurricane Odile devastated the region in September.

The United flight was met by enthusiastic crowds and even honored with a water cannon salute normally reserved for inaugural flights. A large welcoming committee wore T-shirts and waved signs reading “Los Cabos #Unstoppable” and “Welcome Back,” celebrating the first vacationers to return to the Mexican resort area.

Wednesday’s festivities offered a dramatic contrast to the scene at the airport in September, when the focus was on evacuations, relief efforts and rebuilding. The airport’s facilities were all but wrecked by the storm’s fury and had been closed to commercial traffic ever since.

Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines also returned to SJD on Wednesday with limited service. The Seattle Times reports that airlines expect to resume full service by December. The Times cautions, however, that many hotels in the region remain closed for the foreseeable future. Although dozens of hotels and resorts have already reopened or are scheduled to reopen this month, many properties will not be rebuilt until 2015.

Despite the return of tourists to the popular resort destination, relief efforts for residents affected by the hurricane are still ongoing. Princess Cruises announced that when its Star Princess vessel docked in Cabos San Lucas on October 4, marking its first return since Odile, it was carrying pallets of water, milk and other desperately needed relief supplies for residents.

[Photo: Los Cabos Tourism]