Canadian travellers with trips planned to Mexico weighing whether or not to stay home

canadian river airlines ar resuming flights to and from parts of united mexican states after serve was wedged on Sunday by violence in the region, but travellers are weighing whether or not to board them.

Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Porter Airlines resumed operations in and out of Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, while Flair Airlines said its service to the popular resort town would start again on Wednesday.

Global Affairs Canada said online that no new incidents have been reported as of Monday, but shelter-in-place warnings are still in effect for the western Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit following violence sparked by the killing of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," in a military operation over the weekend.

But when asked whether Canadians with planned trips to Mexico should cancel their flights, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday that decisions should be made on a day-to-day basis even as the situation appears to be improving.

That's left potential Canadians travellers like Cindy Redmile unsure about what they should do.

She's supposed to leave Quesnel, B.C., for Cancun, Mexico, with her 18-year-old daughter next week. While Cancun and Puerto Vallarta are on opposite sides of the country, Redmile said she still worries that the situation could change again for the worse.

"I still am concerned because everything that's happened is so fresh still," Redmile said. "I am going with my youngest daughter, and her safety is of the utmost importance to me."

PHOTOS | Scenes from Mexico when violence broke out:

Others, like Lauretta Prince of Fort St. James, B.C., aren't as concerned. She and a friend had booked a week-long trip to Puerto Vallarta with their granddaughters for mid-March to celebrate their graduations from high school and college, and they're leaving the decision up to the kids to decide.

"I spoke with [one of my granddaughters] last night, and we both said that we'll wait until Friday to decide and see what the climate is for Puerto Vallarta," Prince said.

Both Redmile and Prince bought travel insurance that will allow them to rebook their vacations or get a travel credit if they choose to do so.

Will McAleer, executive director of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada, said unless travellers purchased an insurance policy that allows them to cancel for any reason, they're likely on the hook for the trip and won't be able to get their money back.

While most airlines are offering customers some flexibility to rebook or cancel their vacations, McAleer said that flexibility is given only for a select few departure dates in the coming days. WestJet is allowing those with flights booked to Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo until Feb. 27 to either rebook or cancel and get a refund or travel credit depending on their fare class, for example.

"For those folks who have March break plans coming up, that's not going to be covered and you'd be subject to any cancellation provisions that you'd normally see," he said.

When it comes to insurance, McAleer said that policies vary, but many only refund travellers for upcoming trips if they have to cancel due to things like medical emergencies or if the government issues travel advisories to avoid all non-essential travel or avoid all travel.

Travel insurance expert answers your questions about Mexico

The Canadian government has warned travellers to avoid non-essential travel in some areas of Mexico, but tourists in popular destinations — including Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Cozumel and Mexico City — are only being urged to exercise a high degree of caution.

McKenzie McMillan, managing partner with travel agency The Travel Group, said warnings to exercise caution are a common alert level. Italy currently has the same warning level due to the risk of terrorist attacks, which Global Affairs Canada notes have happened in recent years in several European cities.

While violence and security scares took place in a number of cities across Mexico on Sunday, the bulk of the incidents seemed to occur in Puerto Vallarta. Flights to destinations like Cancun, on the country's east coast, continued as normal, which McMillan said should give people travelling to those parts of the country some reassurance.

"Things can change, and it does feel these days like all bets are kind of off on what could possibly happen with your vacation," McMillan said. "[But] at this time, we haven't really seen any issue or any reason why people travelling to those destinations should be concerned."

McAleer said those with upcoming trips to Mexico should speak with the airline or tour operator they've booked with to figure out their options.

Prince, of Fort St. James, B.C., has been in touch with her travel agent to stay up-to-date about the current situation, as well as people she knows who are in Puerto Vallarta right now, before locking in her decision. But at this point, she said, she's hopeful the trip will go ahead as planned.

"It is a trip of a lifetime for my granddaughters. And I don't really want to spoil the celebration that we're going on,” Prince said. "For me, I'm leaning towards going."

Journalist

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