Sun Country Airlines on Tuesday, Feb. 24, said it is sending two planes to the Puerto Vallarta Airport in Mexico to pick up passengers whose flights were canceled.
The airline called off flights in and out of the popular tourist destination on Monday due to civil unrest that broke out following the killing of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in a military operation over the weekend.
Cartel members clashed with authorities, setting vehicles on fire and blocking roads, prompting the U.S. State Department to issue a shelter-in-place directive that remains in effect.
“While no airports have been closed, roadblocks have impacted airline operations, with most domestic and international flights canceled in both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta,” the State Department said.
Sun Country also diverted two flights on Sunday, which eventually returned to the Twin Cities, according to data on the flight tracking website FlightAware. A Sun Country flight to Puerto Vallarta at 7:24 a.m. Monday was canceled, according to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s website.
On Tuesday, a Sun Country flight from MSP is scheduled to arrive in Mexico at 10:13 a.m., according to the Puerto Vallarta Airport’s website. It wasn’t immediately clear when the second plane would arrive.
Delta Air Lines on Monday also canceled flights in and out of Puerto Vallarta, also known as Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport. On Tuesday, at least one flight from the Twin Cities to Mexico’s seventh busiest airport showed as departing on time at 9:21 a.m.
A Delta flight leaving Puerto Vallarta for the Twin Cities was scheduled to depart at 3:10 p.m., according to the Puerto Vallarta Airport’s website.
