Puerto Vallarta Airport Stays Shut Until 13 October
TRAVEL · MEXICO
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico, the southern neighbour of the United States. Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast of Jalisco state, is one of its resorts most visited by Americans and Canadians.
- —Why it matters Travellers with flights to or from Puerto Vallarta face at least one more day without service while Hurricane Simon crawls up the coast.
- —Why now Airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) extended the closure on Sunday, 11 October, after Mexico updated its official notices to pilots.
- —What happened Puerto Vallarta International Airport stays closed to all operations until 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 13 October (14:00 UTC). Manzanillo was due to reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday.
- —The numbers Simon had winds near 185 km/h (115 mph) at 06:00 UTC on Monday. Power utility CFE said it had restored 99.54% of 31,469 affected customers in three states.
- —What it means for you Do not go to the airport. Contact your airline about rebooking, and follow local civil protection orders. The terminal is not a shelter.
- —Still open Whether Tuesday’s reopening holds, when Simon finally comes ashore, and what damage the coast of Jalisco and Nayarit has suffered.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives 96.8% that Simon’s peak will settle at Category 4 (12 October, 2:10 a.m. ET; about US$17,550 traded).
Puerto Vallarta airport will stay closed until Tuesday morning, its operator said on Sunday, 11 October, as Hurricane Simon lingered off Mexico’s Pacific coast. The resort in Jalisco state is a main gateway for American and Canadian visitors. Anyone booked on flights there this week faces cancellations and rebooking.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), the private company that runs Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and other airports in western Mexico, announced the extension. It said the official notices to pilots (NOTAMs) had been updated.
Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) is now closed to all operations until 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 13 October. That is 14:00 UTC, or 10 a.m. in New York. Manzanillo International Airport (ZLO), in Colima state, was set to reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, 12 October.
GAP said the extension was due to the hurricane’s slow movement. Both reopening times depend on weather and operating conditions, assessed with the aviation authorities. Any change will be announced through official channels, the company said.
This changes the picture given in Hurricane Simon Skirts Jalisco, Sinaloa Is Next, when the Puerto Vallarta airport was still expected to reopen on Monday morning.
Where Simon Is Now
At 06:00 UTC on Monday, 12 October, the centre of Simon was about 75 km (45 miles) southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. It was about 225 km (140 miles) west-northwest of Manzanillo, according to intermediate advisory 19A of the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Simon was a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds near 185 km/h (115 mph). It was moving north-west at only about 7 km/h (5 mph). It peaked at Category 4 on Saturday, 10 October, with winds of 250 km/h (155 mph), and has weakened slowly since.
The NHC expects the north-west drift to continue into early Tuesday. Simon should then turn north-east and move inland across west-central Mexico around midweek. Rapid weakening is likely once it is over land.
Mexico has lifted the hurricane warning from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula. A warning remains from Playa Perula to El Roblito, in Nayarit, and for the Islas Marías. A hurricane watch runs north of El Roblito to Bahía Tempehuaya, in Sinaloa.
The NHC warned that hurricane conditions were spreading north overnight into Monday. Isolated storm totals of up to 30 inches (about 760 mm) of rain are possible in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. That can bring life-threatening floods and mudslides on steep ground.
Mexico’s national weather service (SMN) forecast extraordinary rain of more than 250 mm in coastal and western Jalisco, according to the Mexico City weekly Proceso. It expected 150 to 250 mm in Colima and 50 to 75 mm in central and southern Sinaloa.
Power, Fuel and Schools
The damage reported so far is limited, and services are coming back. The state power company, Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), said that by 9 p.m. on Sunday it had reconnected 31,325 of 31,469 affected customers in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. That is 99.54%, El Heraldo de México reported.
Colima and Michoacán were fully restored. In Jalisco, 144 customers were still waiting for power. CFE has deployed 3,139 electricians, 427 cranes and four helicopters across six Pacific states, according to Mexico’s energy ministry.
State oil company Pemex said it had enough petrol and diesel in stock to keep supplying the regions hit by the storm.
Further north, Sinaloa governor Graciela Domínguez Nava suspended classes on Monday in seven municipalities, including Mazatlán. The others are Elota, Cosalá, San Ignacio, Concordia, Rosario and Escuinapa. She cited the rain forecast and the advice of the state civil protection council, the Culiacán daily Noroeste and the weekly Ríodoce reported.
In Guerrero, further south, the state civil protection office counted one death in the state capital, Chilpancingo, from Simon’s rains. Its report, updated on Saturday afternoon, also listed two injured in Acapulco and 112 damaged homes across 20 municipalities, Quadratín Guerrero reported.
What It Means for You
If you are booked to fly to or from Puerto Vallarta on Monday, your flight will not operate. Ask your airline about free changes or refunds before Tuesday. GAP advises passengers to contact their airline directly.
If you are already in Puerto Vallarta, the Riviera Nayarit or the Jalisco coast, stay where you are and follow civil protection orders. GAP has stressed that the airport is not an official shelter and will stay shut during the closure.
If you plan to travel to Mazatlán or elsewhere in Sinaloa this week, keep your plans flexible. The storm is expected to move inland around midweek. Our checklist for foreigners lists what to prepare.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether Puerto Vallarta will reopen on schedule on Tuesday. GAP has already pushed the date back once, and Simon is moving slowly.
There was no full damage assessment for the coast of Jalisco and Nayarit as of early Monday. The exact point and day of landfall are also still uncertain.
We could not confirm whether Manzanillo airport reopened as planned on Monday morning, after this report was written.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, bets on how strong Simon will get have drawn about US$17,550 in volume. At 2:10 a.m. ET on Monday, the market gave 96.8% to a Category 4 peak and about 5% to Category 5. These are bets, not forecasts.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will Puerto Vallarta airport reopen?
The operator GAP says Puerto Vallarta International Airport is closed to all operations until 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, 13 October. The time depends on weather and could change again.
Is Manzanillo airport open?
GAP said Manzanillo International Airport was closed until 8 a.m. local time on Monday, 12 October, subject to conditions. Check with your airline before travelling.
Where will Hurricane Simon make landfall?
The US National Hurricane Center expects Simon to drift north-west into early Tuesday, then turn north-east and move inland over west-central Mexico around midweek. Sinaloa is under a hurricane watch.
Sources: Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) statement, 11 October 2026; US National Hurricane Center, advisory 19A; Energy ministry (Sener); El Heraldo de México; Proceso; Noroeste; Ríodoce; Quadratín Guerrero.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Living in or visiting Puerto Vallarta? See our Puerto Vallarta city guide with rents, safety and upcoming concerts.