Numerous airports in Florida and Georgia have either closed or announced that they are monitoring the status and progress of Hurricane Irma, which is now a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour — but although it did weaken due to moving along the northern coast of Cuba, its forward motion has slowed down to seven miles per hour and is heading west northwest.
Also, weakened hurricanes tend to expand in size — which has already happened with Hurricane Irma, as at least half of the state of Florida has already started feeling the effects of this storm. Tropical storm force winds have just approached Naples and Miami — and they will only get stronger overnight as the storm moves closer.
Hurricane Irma is expected to strengthen once again once it heads away from Cuba because its eye will be out over the warm open waters of the extreme eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Outer bands containing heavy rains, gusty winds and isolated tornadoes have already impacted much of the Florida peninsula, which includes Miami and Daytona Beach; so even though the eye of the hurricane is bypassing the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula, the southeastern coast of Florida is by no means safe at this time.
With the exception of a few counties in the western portion of its panhandle, the entire state of Florida is under a hurricane warning — not a hurricane watch — with some western counties under a tropical storm warning. Portions of southern Georgia are also under a hurricane warning, with other parts of southern Georgia, southern South Carolina, and extreme southeastern Alabama under a tropical storm warning.
Meanwhile, northern and central Georgia — which includes the greater Atlanta metropolitan area — are already under a flash flood watch. Heavy rains from what is expected to become Tropical Storm Irma will spread over these areas beginning Monday morning and continuing through Monday night with precipitation amounts of up to seven inches are possible.
List of Airports Now Closed Because of Hurricane Irma
Airports which included no reference to Hurricane Irma — such as those which serve Pensacola, Valdosta, Charleston, Birmingham, Nashville, Destin and Macon — were not included in the list. The text below the airport names — which are linked to their respective official Internet web sites — was extracted verbatim from their official announcements pertaining to Hurricane Irma at the time this article was written.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hurricane Irma may impact your travel plans at Hartsfield-Jackson. Please monitor your airline’s communications channels and follow us on Twitter @ATLAirport for the latest impacts at ATL.
Columbus Airport which serves the greater Columbus metropolitan area in Georgia
As we continue to monitor Hurricane Irma and seeing the projection of the storm moving further west than previously projected the Columbus Airport Adminstrative offices and Flightways will be CLOSED on Monday, September 11, 2017. Flightways will not accept any callouts. Please continue to monitor our social media pages for continuous updates. Be safe.
As Hurricane Irma approaches with expected high winds, Reeves Containers will be removing all Portable toilets from the airfield immediately. The portables will be returned Tuesday September 12th 2017.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please use the restroom facilities located in the Airport Terminal & Flightways Columbus.
Daytona Beach International Airport
The airport passenger terminal will close at 6 p.m. Sept. 9.
All airlines flying out of the airport have canceled flights for Sunday, Sept. 10.
Travelers should monitor flights next week with the airlines. As the storm passes, staff will work to restore operations.
The airport is not a shelter.
Key West International Airport
Due to Hurricane Irma, Airline operations will be suspended at the end of the day on Thursday 9/7/17 until further notice. Contact your Airline provider regarding your flight status. TSA check point is open through the last commercial service on Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
The last flight departed FLL Friday night. There are more no arrivals. FLL is closed Saturday and Sunday. We’ll open after the storm as soon as possible.
Contact your airline for the latest flight information after the airport opens. You can also select “Flight Status” in the upper left hand corner of the web’s home page.
Southwest Florida International Airport which serves the greater Fort Myers metropolitan area
If you are traveling Sept. 7 through Sept. 11, you should contact your airline to get the most current information about flights that may be impacted by Hurricane Irma.
The Gainesville Regional Airport Airline Passenger Terminal will be closed on Sunday and Monday, September 10 and 11. Airport staff plans to reopen the terminal on Tuesday morning, September 12.
Rental car companies will not operate on Sunday and Monday.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have cancelled all flights on Sunday and Monday. Please check with your airline for possible additional schedule updates and rebooking.
Jacksonville International Airport
Terminal access is closed until flights resume. CONTACT AIRLINE, NOT AIRPORT, for flight updates.
Orlando Melbourne International Airport
All MLB scheduled commercial flights have been suspended & the terminal is closed. No cars will be admitted. MLB is not a shelter of last resort. The airfield will remain open for general aviation ops.
All flights have ceased operations in preparation for Hurricane Irma. Follow us on Twitter at @IflyMIA for the latest updates.
Orlando International Airport will cease commercial flights at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday 9th.
Please check with your airline for the status of specific flights.
For hotel accommodation availability, please go to Expedia.com/Florida
Orlando Sanford International Airport
Due to current predictions for Hurricane Irma, Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) expects the last commercial passenger flight to depart at 5:15 PM on Saturday, September 9. There will be no commercial passenger flight activity after that time. All other airport / airfield operations will end at 7:30 PM on Saturday at which time the Airport will be closed until further notice. The Airport is not a shelter so please do not come to the Airport until operations resume. The Airport will open as soon as deemed possible followed by resumption of commercial passenger flight operations, both will be announced accordingly.
Passengers should check with their airline directly for specific flight details before coming to the Airport as it is possible for your specific flight’s schedule is modified even if the Airport is deemed open. For airline contact information please see below or visit www.OrlandoSanfordAirport.com.
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport which serves the greater Panama City metropolitan area
Operations are currently normal at ECP. Please remember to continually check your flight status with your airline if you are flying this week and into next. We will continue to keep our passengers updated.
Click the following link to connect to the Allegiant Air website regarding your flight information www.allegiantair.com/travel-alerts
Saint Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport
Due to mandatory evacuation, the airport will close Friday 9/8 at 11 AM until further notice. For flight updates contact your airline.
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport
The airfield will be closed to all air traffic on Saturday at 8:00 pm and remain closed until further notice.
Monday 9/11: service tentatively returning to be determined based on storm progress.
Savannah Hilton Head International Airport
In anticipation of Hurricane Irma’s arrival and the resulting community evacuation, airlines will determine schedule changes and cancellations. Please check airline websites or mobile apps for the most up-to-date flight information. flySAV.com/News
Tallahassee International Airport
Last departure on Sun 9/10 at 5:40pm. All departures Mon 9/11 canx. Commercial flights resume Tues 9/12.
We will cease commercial airline operations at 8 p.m. Saturday. Check with your airline for details on specific flights. Be sure to follow instructions from local officials regarding evacuations. Tampa International is not a designated hurricane shelter and not able to accommodate the public during a hurricane.
Palm Beach International Airport
At this time, all Saturday flights in/out of PBI have been cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. Do not plan to weather the storm at PBI. PBI is not an authorized storm shelter.
Summary
Do not even think of driving into Florida while the airports are closed. Extensive significant flooding and torrential rains are expected throughout much of the state; and strong winds are almost certain to knock down trees and weaker structures which could block roads — not to mention assorted other debris which may unexpectedly appear on the roads and highways.
Keep yourself updated with reports to monitor weather conditions in order to ascertain when traveling to Florida is recommended once again — and please stay safe.
For additional information pertaining to the schedules of at least 38 different airlines — as well as some lodging and cruise ship operations affected by Hurricane Irma — please refer to this article.
My thoughts and prayers are with all who have been — and could still be — adversely impacted by Hurricane Irma.
Source: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce of the United States.
