Torrential rain, huge traffic jams and a leaking roof couldn't stop Bermuda from regaining its links with the outside world.

The first flights in and out of the Island successfully went on schedule yesterday as the Airport and Causeway were miraculously able to operate despite terrible weather conditions.

Lunchtime downpours led to water cascading through the roof of the departures area and made driving conditions across the already heavily-damaged Causeway increasingly dangerous, but hard work by the Bermuda Regiment, Airport staff and the Ministry of Works and Engineering ensured that the vital aerial links with the US were maintained.

British Airways and American Airlines were expected to resume their services today while Continental Airlines and US Airways have yet to make a decision, according to general manager James Howes.

Only daytime flights are going ahead for the foreseeable future as the Causeway remains closed to the public after nightfall.

"The 'air side' of day one's operation went very well," Mr. Howes told The Royal Gazette.

"The only disappointment was the rain. It gave us a bit of a headache and made things more unpleasant than they had to be in the terminal.

"But passengers were clearly relieved to be able to fly again."

Extra tarpaulins were placed on the roof by Regiment volunteers after torrents of water began pouring through the ceiling, while passengers for the day's later flight, to Boston, were asked to check in at the British Airways desks to keep them away from the saturated area.

Mr. Howes said he was aware that some passengers flying to the US yesterday had suffered deaths in the family so the "look and smell of the airport was probably not at the forefront of their minds".

Apart from a couple who had erroneously arrived hoping to take a US Airways flight which wasn't operating, Mr. Howes said that passengers had generally been kept aware of which flights were available through the media and by direct contact with the airlines.

Advice to arrive early - due to possible problems in crossing the Causeway and with clearance at the Airport - was generally heeded by passengers, with most getting to Bermuda International Airport with plenty of time to spare.

Joe Meury and wife Kelly, who were taking the 1.40 p.m. flight to Atlanta, the first commercial flight to leave the Island since Fabian struck, arrived at 10.30 a.m. and were checked in two hours later.

"I'm amazed they have got this place open," said the 35-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, who married here in 2000 in Astwood Park.

"In fact, they have coped pretty well with the whole thing. If those winds had come to the States then we would have been looking at a lot of flattened buildings. It would have been much worse damage back home."

The couple, who arrived in Bermuda just one day before Fabian, spent their time at the Hamilton Princess and had nothing but praise for staff at the hotel and the Island in general.

"They were unbelievable," added Mr. Meury, who was originally due to fly out on Sunday.

"They couldn't have looked after us any better. Everyone pulled together. We had such a nice holiday here - we will definitely be back."

Also departing, on the day's second flight to Boston, were Jerome and Elaine Jussaume, in Bermuda for a friend's wedding at the Sonesta Beach resort.

The ceremony, at the hotel's Honeymoon Point, was moved forward by a day to Thursday, a sensible move given the subsequent decimation of the hotel by Fabian and the destruction of the symbolic moongate.

"We had four lovely days at the Sonesta before we had to move," Mr. Jussaume told The Royal Gazette.

"We then went to the Southampton, but had to leave our third floor room at about 3 p.m. on Friday. We went down to the lower lobby but rain, sand and glass were blowing around so we had to move again.

"But it hasn't ruined the holiday, it was a lovely wedding and we have had a great time here."

While pleased how quickly the airport was back up and running, Mrs. Jussaume was not entirely happy with her Causeway crossing.

"I was a little anxious as we crossed over it," she admitted.

"It didn't look very stable, but I had to keep telling myself 'if it is open, it must be safe'."

That view was shared by insurance worker Michael Fox, at the airport to pick up his family from the Boston flight, the first into the Island since Fabian.

"It is understandable they should be so keen to get the airport running so quickly, but I am not sure about the Causeway," he told The Royal Gazette.

"When I crossed it seemed pretty hazardous and all this rain hasn't helped things. When you go across you don't feel very secure."