UNITED STATES

Airports closures and flight cancellations continue as Ian lashes Florida

Sep 15, 2022, 9:15 AM | Updated: Sep 29, 2022, 8:44 am

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 30: United Airlines planes sit on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport on November 30, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. The United States, and a growing list of other countries, has restricted flights from southern African countries due to the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant last week in South Africa. Stocks in the travel and airline industry have fallen in recent days as fears grow over the spread and severity of the variant. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

BY NEARLY 2,000 THURSDAY FLIGHTS IN THE US HAD BEEN CANCELED BY 8:30 A.M. ET, ACCORDING TO DATA FROM FLIGHT TRACKING SITE FLIGHTAWARE. MORE THAN 2,100 US FLIGHTS WERE CANCELED ON WEDNESDAY.
Digital Content Producer

Originally Published: 29 SEP 22 09:09 ET

Updated: 29 SEP 22 09:10 ET

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

(CNN) — 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.

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 8:30 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. Petersburg/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 October 5 at 6 p.m. ET

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 US had been canceled by 8:30 a.m. ET, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 2,100 US flights were canceled on Wednesday.

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

Nearly 900 Friday flights had also been canceled by Thursday morning.

More than 250 Thursday American Airlines flights had been canceled by 8:30 a.m. ET, according to FlightAware.

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

Other US 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.”