Airports in Tampa, Orlando, and other hubs are stopping commercial service as the storm approaches
As category-4 Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida with an expected landfall occurring Wednesday morning, many of the state’s most heavily trafficked airports are shutting down operations. Among them are Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport.
Orlando’s airport, the state’s busiest, announced that it will cease commercial service at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9. Although the city is in the eastern part of the state, the National Weather Service still expects it will get hit with hurricane-force winds blowing at more than 74 miles per hour.
“MCO will remain open only to accommodate emergency, aid, and relief flights as necessary,” it said in a service alert.
Tampa’s airport, the state’s fourth-busiest, has already closed to commercial traffic. It lies directly in the path of the storm. Both airports said that they will resume service as soon as possible.
Of the 11 Florida airports that the Federal Aviation Administration says enplaned the most passengers in 2023, six of them have said that they’ll be cancelling service, besides Orlando and Tamp:
The New York Post reports that some airline customers looking to fly their way out of harm’s way were met with exorbitant fares of more than $1,000 per seat, though airlines have said that they’re adding flights to try to keep up with demand.
Still, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on the X $TWTR social media platform on Monday evening that he’s monitoring price levels for Florida air fares.
“The Department [of Transportation] takes all allegations of airline price-gouging seriously,” he wrote. “We are keeping a close eye on flights in and out of areas affected by Hurricane Milton to make sure airlines are not charging excessively increasing fares.”
Other major airports in the state, including Miami International Airport (the state’s second-busiest) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (the state’s third-busiest), have said that they will remain open but are continuing to monitor the storm’s path.
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