Airports Closures and Flight Cancellations Continue in Wake of Hurricane Ian

Wire Service
By Wire Service
September 29, 2022Business News
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Airports Closures and Flight Cancellations Continue in Wake of Hurricane Ian
The arrival and departures board lists numerous flight cancelations at Tampa International Airport before the airport is due to close at 5pm today ahead of Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 27, 2022. (Bryan R. Smith /AFP via Getty Images)

A number of Florida airports remained closed on Thursday with thousands of flights canceled in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

Just before midnight on Wednesday, Jacksonville International Airport tweeted that its airport terminal had closed and all Thursday flights were canceled. The airport didn’t say when it would reopen.

Key West International Airport reopened on Thursday at 7 a.m., the airport said on its website.

Orlando International Airport tweeted an operational update Thursday morning, saying commercial operations were expected to resume sometime Friday. “Whenever a specific time is decided, we’ll share it on our social media channels and website,” the statement said.

The airports below remain closed, according to information from the Federal Aviation Administration’s airport status map.

While most of the airports have not announced reopening plans, the FAA map gave the following estimated reopening times, as of 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday:

• Sarasota-Bradenton International expected to reopen Thursday at 7:59 p.m. ET
• Tampa International expected to reopen on Friday at 12:00 p.m. ET
• Orlando International expected to reopen Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET
• St. Pete-Clearwater International expected to reopen Friday at 12 p.m. ET
• Southwest Florida International expected to reopen Friday at 12 p.m. ET
• Daytona Beach International expected to reopen on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. ET

Travelers are advised to check airport websites and social media postings as well as with their airlines for specific information and to confirm timing.

Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are open, but some flights have been delayed and canceled.

Nearly 2,000 Thursday flights in the United States had been canceled by 10:00 a.m. ET, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 2,100 U.S. flights were canceled on Wednesday.

The airports in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville were leading with the most cancellations Thursday morning.

More than 900 Friday flights had also been canceled by Thursday morning.

More than 250 Thursday American Airlines flights had been canceled by 10:00 a.m. ET, according to FlightAware.

American customers traveling through airports in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas can rebook flights without change fees.

Other U.S. carriers, including Delta, Southwest, and United, have also introduced flexible policies for impacted passengers.

As the storm approached, the FAA said in a statement that it was “closely monitoring Hurricane Ian and its path,” underscoring that it does not cancel commercial flights.

“Before any storm hits, we prepare and protect air traffic control facilities and equipment along the projected storm path so operations can quickly resume after the hurricane passes to support disaster relief efforts.”

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