Worth discussing before booking rather than on the day. This network has fields that close, and when that happens there is no alternative air route.
Why it happens
Much of the catalogue's airfields are daylight and visual: they operate with light and visibility, not with instruments. Several also have approaches flown in one direction only, dictated by terrain or by the sea. Several fields in the network operate in daylight and visual conditions, and close when the weather does not allow it.
At Arenal the factor is cloud around the volcano, which generates its own weather. Cloud around the volcano sets the field’s operating window, and it is usually more favourable early in the day. In the Caribbean, the green season costs more lost days than the dry Pacific.
It is not an operator deficiency: it is the geography. And an operator who takes off anyway is the one to worry about.
What happens then, in practice
Three outcomes, in order of frequency:
It slips within the day. Many closures last hours rather than days: a low layer that lifts mid-morning, a front that passes. If your margin allows it, you leave later and the trip continues.
You fly another day. When the closure is for the whole day and your itinerary has slack. This is where the margin you left at booking either exists or it does not.
Or you go overland. At destinations with a road, that is the real plan B, even if it means trading a one-hour flight for half a day's drive.
At those without one — Tortuguero, Barra del Colorado — that option does not exist and waiting is the only way out. Worth knowing when choosing a destination, not when stuck on the ground.
What decides which of the three you get
The margin you left when booking. It is almost the only variable under your control.
Which is why we repeat the same criterion across the catalogue: leave the margin on the return day, not the outbound. A delayed inbound flight costs a day of the trip; a delayed outbound can cost the intercontinental.
What we do
Tell you as soon as it is known, not at the strip.
Look for an alternative — another time, another field, another day — and tell you which is genuinely viable.
And be clear about what depends on whom. The flight is our remit; the ground transfer and the boat are not, and an air cancellation disrupts those links too. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
What is worth settling at booking
What happens with your accommodation if you arrive a day late. That is a call worth making in advance.
Whether your intercontinental has margin. It is the most expensive thing to lose.
And what commercial terms apply in case of weather cancellation. Ask when quoting, not afterwards.
What we will not tell you
That we guarantee flying on a given day come what may.
Nobody serious can guarantee that in a network of visual fields, and anyone who does is telling you what you want to hear, which is not the same as telling you the truth.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the fields close?
Many are daylight and visual, and several have approaches flown in one direction only, dictated by terrain or sea.
What happens if we cannot fly?
It slips within the day, you fly another day, or you go overland where there is a road.
And if the destination has no road?
At Tortuguero or Barra del Colorado there is no overland plan B. Waiting is the only way out.
What decides which option I get?
The margin you left when booking. It is almost the only variable under your control.
Where should that margin go?
On the return day. A delayed outbound flight can cost the intercontinental.
What should I ask when quoting?
What commercial terms apply if weather prevents flying. Ask beforehand, not afterwards.
Can you guarantee the flight?
No, and be wary of anyone who does in a network of visual fields.
Enquire
The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.