Slow recovery for Key West
It could be up to a month until cruise ships return to Key West.
The popular cruise destination, currently in the midst of a massive clean-up in the wake of Hurricane Irma and closed to visitors, is aiming to be back up and running for cruisers and other tourists by Oct. 20, according to its tourist office.
Already, Royal Caribbean has canceled all of its Key West calls through the middle of October. Three Carnival ships — Carnival Breeze, Carnival Victory and Carnival Paradise — bypassed the town this week.
Key West is just one of several major cruise destinations that are off ship schedules for an extended period because of Irma. Even harder hit were St. Thomas and St. Maarten — the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin.
But commercial airline flights resumed Wednesday at Key West Airport for the first time in 12 days.
The small airport halted all flights ahead of Hurricane Irma and was damaged as the storm raked the Keys before moving up the west coast of Florida. The Key West airport had been closed since.
Service started with a limited schedule as the airport works to get back up to speed in the coming weeks.
Key West Airport is served by American, Delta and United (including their regional affiliates) as well as by regional carrier Silver Airways.
Access to much of the Keys is currently restricted to residents and those helping with relief efforts.