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Airlines cancel 2,000 flights on Thursday as Hurricane Ian disrupts travel
Air carriers are scrambling to reschedule flights in the aftermath of the storm, which has caused significant damage and disruption in the vicinity of Florida airports.
The arrival and departures board lists numerous flight cancelations at Tampa International Airport before the airport is due to close ahead of Hurricane Ian on September 27, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty ImagesThough its downgraded in strength to a tropical storm since its arrival on Florida’s Gulf coast Wednesday, Ian continues to wreck havoc on regional travel in the southeast United States.
The system is currently making its way across central Florida and is projected to move into the Atlantic Ocean this week before making landfall again in the vicinity of South Carolina. The system has sparked significant power outages across Florida and spurred airports in the region to shut down operations as the storm passes. On Thursday, U.S. air carriers canceled 1,935 flights as airlines move to reschedule connections and departures in the affected regions, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Florida airports currently closed in response to Tropical Storm Ian are:
- Daytona Beach International (projected to reopen October 5 at 6 p.m. ET)
- Orlando International (projected to reopen Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET)
- Sarasota-Bradenton International (projected to reopen Thursday at 7:59 p.m. ET)
- Southwest Florida International (projected to reopen Friday 12 p.m. ET)
- St. Pete-Clearwater International (projected to reopen Friday at 12 p.m. ET)
- Tampa International (projected to reopen Friday at 12 p.m. ET)
Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airports remain open but have delayed and canceled a number of flights. As of Thursday morning Miami International is ranked No. 5 in the U.S. on FlightAware’s Misery Map of delayed and canceled flights. The airport is currently registering 27 delayed flights as of 10 a.m. CT Thursday morning.
Reuters’ David Shepardson reports that 5,000 flights have been canceled by U.S. carriers since Tuesday. More than 900 domestic flights slated for Friday have been canceled as of this writing. Florida is a major domestic hub for a number of U.S. airlines, including JetBlue and Southwest Airlines, both of which typically see 40 percent of their daily flights touch at least one airport in the state, according to Shepardson.