REUTERS/Octavio Jones
Four international airports are set to suspend commercial flights as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, while American Airlines scheduled extra services for evacuees.
Milton intensified into a Category 5 storm — the most severe classification — in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday. It later weakened to an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm and is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday night.
The National Hurricane Center estimated peak storm surges as high as 15 feet in the Tampa Bay area.
Orlando International, Sarasota-Bradenton, St Pete-Clearwater International, and Tampa International airports have all announced closures. All except Orlando are located in counties with mandatory evacuation orders.
Tampa International will close Tuesday at 9 a.m., followed by Sarasota-Bradenton at 4 p.m. and St Pete-Clearwater after the last flight departs on Tuesday.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, close to a third of 158 flights at Tampa International had already been canceled, per FlightAware.
Orlando International said it would end commercial operations on Wednesday morning but remain open for emergency, aid, and relief flights. Jet bridges were being tied down in preparation.
Several public airports are also closing down, including Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive, and Plant City.
Miami International Airport aid it would remain open but was monitoring the situation and encouraged travelers to confirm their flight status with their airlines.
American Airlines added several flights to help people evacuate on Monday and Tuesday.
It's added 11 flights from Tampa International and one from Sarasota-Bradenton, totaling about 2,000 seats. Passengers can check two bags at no cost.
American and other airlines have issued travel alerts and are waiving change fees while some are also waiving cancellation charges.
The disruption comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern US with more than 1,000 flights canceled.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said its Joint Crisis Action Team will handle Hurricane Milton centrally from its command center, "so there is a strong coordinated communication and planning effort."
At airports, radars are shut down to protect antennae and their motors from wind damage, while air traffic controllers are evacuated from towers to seek shelter in a lower level of the building.
"The FAA has personnel on the ground to make sure damaged equipment and services are restored quickly to aid in a rapid response to hard-hit areas," the spokesperson said. "Relief and restoration routes are opened to assist after the storm passes."
