Violence in Mexico: Travel advisors navigate uncertainty; flight, cruise cancellations continue

Alberta-based travel advisor Sandy Knox of JWS Travel – Journeys With Sandy was in Olympics mode on Sunday (Feb. 22), watching the USA-Canada men’s hockey game, when “everything went crazy.”

During the winter months, Knox and her husband live in Puerto Vallarta’s Palmar de Aramara neighbourhood.

The sudden chaos came amid warnings to stay indoors across the southwest Mexico state of Jalisco, following the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Reports say Cervantes, widely known as “El Mencho,” was killed during a Mexican military operation with U.S. assistance in the town of Tapalpa, and violent reprisals erupted across the state.

Footage on social media showed burning vehicles blocking roads and a smoke-filled skyline in tourist-filled Puerto Vallarta.  

“We’re about four blocks from the cruise ship marina and we can see fires from our balcony,” Knox told PAX over the phone early Sunday afternoon.

Knox said she began receiving messages about burning vehicles and advisories urging residents into lockdown the moment the hockey game ended.

“Our friends were at a local pub, watching the game, and they were told to leave the bar when the game ended. When they went outside, there were vehicles on fire and a car exploded,” Knox said. Other friends also watching the game were locked inside a bar as explosions broke out.

“They stopped selling liquor and closed the shutters for safety concerns,” she said.

She said other friends staying at the Hotel Portonovo Plaza near Puerto Vallarta’s Malecón were instructed to evacuate and gather on the beach, though guests were later told it was safe to return.

“It’s a pretty crazy situation,” Knox said, emphasizing that this sort of violent activity in Puerto Vallarta is not normal. “It’s unnerving, but we’re in our house, in a gated community. We’re safe."

"High degree of caution"

It’s one of many accounts that have surfaced over the past 24 hours in the wake of cartel-related violence in one Mexico’s most popular vacation destinations.

Global Affairs Canada is now advising Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution if they are in Mexico, avoid non-essential travel in several states, and that the security situation "could deteriorate rapidly" across the country.

There is an active shelter order in Puerto Vallarta, where Canadians are advised to keep a low profile, monitor media reports, and follow orders from local authorities.

“Criminal groups have set up roadblocks with burning vehicles in several cities in various parts of Mexico. There have been shootouts with security forces and explosions, including on roads and highways connecting affected areas to Mexico city,” reads the advisory.

The Canadian government says security incidents have taken place across Mexico, including Jalisco (Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta), Guerrero (Acapulco), Michoacán, Sinaloa (Mazatlán), Quintana Roo (Cancun), Baja California (Tijuana and Tecate) and Nayarit.

At a news conference Monday morning (Feb. 23), Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said there are no remaining blockades in Mexico, CBC News reports.

26,000+ Canadians registered Mexico

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Monday that more than 26,000 Canadians are currently registered in Mexico. 

The Canadian ambassador to Mexico and consular staff are working with their counterparts, she adds, to ensure that Canadians stay safe.

“All Canadians in affected regions should heed the direction of local authorities and travel only when it is safe to do so,” she said.

As of 7 a.m. ET, she said, 26,305 Canadians in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs Canada, an increase of nearly 8,000 “from the same time yesterday," reports CTV News.

Flight cancellations continue

Yesterday, Puerto Vallarta Airport (PVR) said terminal operations were unaffected by the violence and that safety at the facility was not been compromised.

However, all international operations and most domestic flights at PVR were cancelled that day – and the disruptions carry over to Monday (Feb. 23).

Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter Airlines have all announced that their flights to Puerto Vallarta have been cancelled today, stranding Canadian travellers both at home and in destinations.

All airlines are allowing travellers in affected areas to make flexible changes to their bookings through at least February 25.

“The security situation in Puerto Vallarta is ongoing, and local authorities have issued a shelter-in-place order,” Air Canada wrote on its X account late Sunday night. “We are monitoring the situation and are working to bring our customers back as soon as it is safe to do so. We will share more information as soon as possible.”

WestJet’s flexible/change policy has been extended to February 25 for service to and from PVR, as well as Manzanillo (ZLO) and Guadalajara (GDL).

WestJet says the following flights have been cancelled today (Feb. 23):

• WS2250 YYC-PVR
• WS2251 PVR-YYC
• WS2770 YYZ-PVR
• WS2771 PVR-YYZ
• WS2214 YLW-PVR
• WS2150 PVR-YLW
• WS2150 YVR-PVR
• WS2151 PVR-YVR
• WS2152 YVR-PVR
• WS2153 PVR-YVR
• WS2450 YWG-PVR
• WS2451 PVR-YWG
• WS2380 YQR-PVR
• WS2381 PVR-YQR
• WS2400 YXE-PVR
• WS2401 PVR-YXE
• WS2112 YEG-PVR
• WS2113 PVR-YEG
• WS2114 YEG-PVR
• WS2115 PVR-YEG

Flair Airlines' operations at airports in Jalisco, including Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Guadalajara (GDL), were also cancelled through to Monday. 

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We are in active communication with airport authorities and partners, the Government of Canada, and we are proactively contacting affected passengers directly with updates and next steps based on the information we've received from our partners," the airline said in a statement.

Flair has rebooked impacted customers for flights on Tuesday (Feb. 24), "but these are subject to airport operations."

President Sheinbaum said she expects flights to and from Puerto Vallarta to resume today or tomorrow, Reuters reports.

Cruise cancelled

Reports say at least one cruise ship was forced to cancel its scheduled stop in Puerto Vallarta.

Holland America Line's ms Zuiderdam was supposed to call at Puerto Vallarta on Monday, but the company’s security team decided to cancel the visit to prioritize the safety of passengers and crew members, reports Cruise Critic.

Norwegian Bliss and Royal Princess are scheduled to dock in Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday  (Feb. 25), but the ships are expected to skip the port as well.

Travel advisors navigate uncertainty

The situation presents yet another challenge for the Canadian travel industry, which is recovering from airlines cancelling flights to Cuba recently due to an ongoing fuel shortage on the island.

The violence in Mexico also comes at a time when the country had been benefiting from an increase in Canadian visitors amid the U.S. travel boycott.

For Ottawa-based travel advisor Cindy Almond of Romance and Foodie Travel, the situation casts uncertainty over some of her bookings.

“I’m hearing questions mostly from people heading to Cancun,” Almond told PAX on Monday (Feb. 23), noting that she hasn’t received any cancellations just yet.

Almond spoke to a few clients last night “to reassure them” as she monitored the situation across Mexico. “For the moment, things are calm in Riviera Maya,” she said.

Almond has a small bachelor party group travelling to Mexico’s Riviera Maya soon, and their payment for the end of April is due today.

“They are concerned now,” she said, noting that the booking could potentially fall through.

She plans to observe how things develop over the next few days, saying she’ll start making decisions closer to departure date, utilizing flexible policies.

“It’s another good reason to promote the travel protection plans offered by the tour operators as its puts customers in control of the decision rather than waiting on tour operator or traditional insurance, which may not offer the same flexibility,” Almond said.

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