Tropical Storm Ada Philippines Ferry Cancellations

Published on Jan 16, 2026, 9:15 am CST

5 min read

Key points

PAGASA says Tropical Storm Ada is east of Eastern Visayas with Wind Signal No. 1 in multiple areas and very rough seas on exposed coasts
Ferry and fast craft services are being halted under no sail policies, stranding passengers and rolling cargo across several regions
Philippine Ports Authority advisories show cancellations concentrated on Bicol corridors, Eastern Leyte and Samar ports, and Surigao services
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines updates show flight cancellations on January 16, 2026, including Siargao routes, with knock on risks if aircraft and crews end up out of position
Travelers should avoid same day island hops that depend on ferries, and pivot to air earlier if reaching Manila or Cebu connections is time critical

Impact

Ferry Corridors: Cancellations on key island links can strand travelers on the wrong side of a strait and force overnight stays
Island Connections: Same day ferry to flight and ferry to hotel check in plans are most likely to break when ports close quickly
Domestic Flights: Limited seat capacity can spike prices and reduce rebooking options when travelers pivot from sea to air at once
Hotels And Tours: Late arrivals compress check in windows and can trigger missed tours, transfers, and onward transport
Rolling Cargo: Trucks and essential freight backlogs can disrupt supplies on smaller islands even after passenger travel resumes

Tropical Storm Ada is driving rough seas and hazardous coastal conditions across parts of the Philippines, pushing ports to halt departures under no sail policies and disrupting island mobility. Ferry and fast craft suspensions are the headline risk because the storm's wind and wave field can close exposed routes faster than airlines can add recovery capacity, which leaves travelers stuck on islands or on the wrong side of straits for time sensitive plans. If an itinerary relies on same day island hopping, the safest move is to add time buffers now, and to shift to air earlier where seats still exist.

The change that matters for travelers is straightforward, Tropical Storm Ada Philippines ferries are becoming unreliable, and some flights are already being canceled, so tight connections that depend on sea crossings are at elevated risk.

PAGASA's 5:00 PM bulletin on January 16, 2026, placed Ada's center east northeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h and gusts up to 80 km/h, and it warned of very rough seas on exposed eastern seaboards, with wave heights in some areas reaching up to 5.0 meters.

Who Is Affected

Travelers moving through Eastern Visayas and Bicol are most exposed because the storm track and sea state focus on the eastern seaboard and the strait crossings that connect islands to trunk road networks. PAGASA's Wind Signal No. 1 coverage includes Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, and parts of Leyte and northern Cebu, which is a wide footprint for marine disruption even when the storm center stays offshore.

On the ferry side, Philippine Ports Authority advisories reported cancellations across Bicol corridors such as Matnog to Samar, Bulan to Ticao Island, and Legazpi to Rapu Rapu, along with multiple Eastern Leyte and Samar ports where voyages were being held, and a halt of trips in Surigao. Separately, the Philippine Coast Guard reported thousands of stranded passengers as sea travel disruptions accumulated, with the largest concentrations reported in Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

On the air side, the immediate flight risk shows up first on thinner leisure and island routes that have fewer spare aircraft and fewer alternative frequencies. CAAP updates summarized by GMA News listed 16 canceled flights on January 16, 2026, including multiple rotations between Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB) and Siargao Airport (IAO), plus Siargao links to Francisco Bangoy International Airport (DVO) and Clark International Airport (CRK).

What Travelers Should Do

If a trip includes a ferry segment in the next 24 to 48 hours, treat it as a high failure risk segment and build slack around it. Move critical hotel check ins, tours, and paid transfers by a day where possible, and do not plan to reach an international departure the same day as a sea crossing. If already at a port, assume departures can be suspended on short notice, and prioritize lodging, food, power banks, and proof of onward bookings in case rebooking windows open briefly.

Make the rebooking call based on time criticality, not on optimism about a single reopening notice. If missing the ferry breaks a long haul flight, a cruise embarkation, or a one time event, pivot to an air alternative as soon as a workable routing appears, even if it is less convenient or requires a positioning flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) or Mactan Cebu. If the consequence is only arriving late to a flexible hotel stay, waiting can make sense, but only if lodging and ground transport are secured and you can tolerate a one to two day slip.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours, monitor three streams, PAGASA's severe weather bulletins for track shifts and sea state, local port and Coast Guard no sail notices that determine whether shipping lines can depart, and airline advisories for cancellations and reaccommodation options. PAGASA's bulletin warns the forecast track can shift, and it also flags that very rough seas can persist even outside the storm's core, which is why ferry reliability often lags behind "storm weakening" headlines.

Background

In the Philippines, ferry operations are highly sensitive to wave height, wind direction, and local harbor exposure, especially on strait crossings that face the open Pacific or funnel winds through channels. Even a tropical storm that stays offshore can generate sea conditions that exceed safe limits for fast craft and smaller roll on roll off vessels, and that is why no sail policies can appear quickly and remain in place longer than travelers expect.

The first order disruption is simple capacity removal, ferries stop, queues build, and stranded passenger counts rise at ports. The second order ripple spreads into air travel and lodging markets, because once sea capacity drops, travelers shift to flights, and island routes have limited spare seats, so last seat pricing rises and reaccommodation options narrow. Meanwhile, when passengers miss check in windows, hotels see late arrivals and spillover demand near airports and ports, and rolling cargo backlogs can disrupt supplies on smaller islands, which can affect restaurants, tour operators, and even fuel and essentials until sailings normalize.

For this storm, PAGASA's marine guidance is the key technical driver behind traveler facing disruption, because it explicitly warns that sea travel is risky for all types or tonnage of vessels in affected waters, and it outlines very rough seas along eastern seaboards in Bicol and Northern Samar.