Los Cabos airport smacked by Hurricane Odile may reopen Oct. 8

Los Cabos International Airport, battered by Hurricane Odile on Sept. 14, may open to commercial flights next month.

The airport at the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico, had earlier opened only to planes bringing emergency supplies and evacuating tourists after the Category 3 hurricane tore the roof off one terminal and collapsed ceiling panels in another.

The airport in San Jose del Cabo will “operate solely for official, humanitarian aid and rescue flights” until Oct. 8 and then resume passenger flights, according to a statement Monday from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico.

The runways and flight areas were cleared right after the storm to fly out visitors and residents, but terminal buildings still need work before the airport reopens to passengers.

Hurricane Odile killed at least five people after it slammed into the Baja resort areas of Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas and La Paz with winds estimated at 125 mph.

About 30,000 tourists were evacuated during a time in which much of the area was without water and power.

Many hotels remain closed and have set up relief funds for their workers. The Esperanza Resort, an Auberge hotel in Cabo San Lucas where President Obama stayed during the 2012 G2 Summit, will be closed until Nov. 15 because of damage, its website says.

The Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort also is closed until further notice and was not accepting reservations as of Wednesday.

Elite Traveler magazine and Los Cabos Guide have compiled hotel-by-hotel assessments with dates when some expect to reopen. Elite Traveler recommends:

“If you have vacation plans during this next week or so, you will want to contact your hotel and airline and change your dates to at least October and at least until after the power has been restored for several days.”

And on an upbeat note, it assures travelers that “the beaches, the sunshine, the pool, the food, and the margaritas will all be here.”

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico’s consular office in Los Cabos is closed because of damage from the hurricane too. It says in a statement that evacuations will end in the next few days.

Embassy officials also discourage Americans from leaving the area on Mexico’s Highway 1 north to Tijuana because of wash-outs and gas shortages that make the highway “dangerous and arduous.” The road, however, remains open.