Florida, Sept. 29 (BNA) Airlines canceled nearly 2,000 US flights for Thursday after Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in one of the most powerful US storms in recent years.
The hurricane caused major disruptions to US air travel, especially in the southeastern United States.
Since Tuesday, Reuters reported, airlines have canceled more than 5,000 flights as of Friday.
Airlines canceled 2,163 flights on Wednesday as a number of Florida airports temporarily halted operations, including Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Bradenton, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Naples and St. Petersburg/Clearwater.
Airline tracking website Flightaware said 1,935 flights were canceled on Thursday and 738 were canceled on Friday. Airlines canceled 403 flights on Tuesday before the storm.
Orlando Airport said it expects to resume commercial operations sometime on Friday. Tampa Airport said it will be closed through at least Thursday.
Walt Disney said on Tuesday it would close its Orlando theme parks on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Florida is a major part of US aviation, and some airlines such as JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines typically expect 40% or more of their daily flights to touch the Florida airport.
As of Wednesday, JetBlue has canceled 25% of its US flights and 20% of its Thursday flights, while Southwest has canceled 13% of its Wednesday flights and 9% of its Thursday flights. Another 3,106 US flights were delayed on Wednesday.
Airlines have offered waivers to hurricane-affected travelers to rebook tickets at no charge.
MI