Flight Cancellations and Travel Disruptions Due to Hurricane Milton
by Daniel McCarthy /One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in history, Hurricane Milton is still on track to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday night.
The latest from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has the storm just about 500 miles from Tampa as of Tuesday afternoon. Milton is expected to move north of the Yucatan Peninsula today.
According to the NHC, the center of the storm is likely to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night, and move east-northeastward across central Florida through Thursday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the storm was a Category 4 Hurricane, down from the Category 5 Status it reached on Monday night. While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida, the NHC added.
The storm is already having a major impact on travel, with cruise lines, airlines, and resorts all making changes. Here’s the latest:
- State of Emergency in Tampa
- Flight cancellations
- Cruise ship changes
- Theme parks and resorts close in Orlando
- Flight change waivers
State of Emergency in Tampa
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor on Monday evening declared a state of emergency for the city that included evacuation orders for parts of Hillsborough County along the coast of the city and Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg.
Milton could very well be the strongest storm to hit Tampa in a century, and city officials are issuing dire warnings to residents.
During a CNN interview on Monday night, Castor warned any residents deciding to ride out Milton in those evacuation zones that they would be making a fatal mistake, calling the situation “catastrophic” and adding that “if you choose to say in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.”
According to the NHC, the Storm Surge in Tampa could reach as high as 15 feet and will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. No other area of the state is expected to get nearly that much. That expectation is also twice as high as Tampa experienced during Hurricane Helene.
Flight cancellations
Flight cancellations are piling up on Tuesday morning, including at several airports that have ceased operations. Of the close to 700 flights canceled in the U.S. on Tuesday, the most are at Florida airports in Milton’s path. Here’s the situation as of 7 a.m., according to FlightAware:
- Tampa International Airport (TPA) suspended all operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday and said it will only “reopen when safe to do so.” Cancellations at Tampa International were into the hundreds and should continue to grow as the day progresses.
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) is planning on shutting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and like Tampa, says it will only reopen when it is safe. Orlando had just about 25 cancellations on Tuesday.
- Sarasota-Bradenton Airport (SRQ) closed on Monday at 4 p.m. and says it will reopen when safe to do so.
- Southwest Florida International (RSW) in Ft. Myers is planning on remaining open on Tuesday, and then ceasing operations on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10. About a quarter of all departures were canceled at Southwest Florida on Tuesday, another number that is likely to grow.
- St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is closing after its last flight departs on Tuesday and says it will not operate any flights on Wednesday and Thursday.
More cruise ship changes
Hurricane Milton is scattering cruise ships around the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and may impact the return of several ships, particularly at Port Tampa Bay, where the U.S. Coast Guard has now set Port Condition YANKEE, meaning the possibility of gale force winds could impact maritime operations within 24 hours. The port has one ship – Carnival Paradise – due to turn around on Thursday.
Other cruise ports that currently stand at Port Condition YANKEE are JAXPORT, Port Canaveral, Miami, and Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale).
Here are the latest cruise changes:
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Paradise’s visit to Cozumel on Wednesday has been canceled and replaced with a stop at Costa Maya. Carnival Valor’s visit to Cozumel scheduled for today (Oct. 8) has also been canceled and the ship will spend the day at sea.
As reported yesterday, Carnival Pride’s arrival to and departure from Bermuda was bumped up by a day.
The line is watching the storm and several ship itineraries for further possible changes including for Carnival Liberty, Carnival Elation, Carnival Glory, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Breeze, and Carnival Sunshine.
MSC Cruises
MSC Magnifica, which departed from Miami on Oct. 7, will skip both of its Bahamas stops and visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic on Oct. 9.
All other cruise ship changes for Milton are available here.
Royal Caribbean
Independence of the Seas, which departed Miami on Oct. 5, will go to Puerto Plata today (Oct. 8) instead of Cozumel.
Icon of the Seas, which departed Miami on Oct. 5, will skip its Oct. 11 call to Perfect Day at CocoCay and replace it with a day at sea.
Serenade of the Seas, which departed Tampa on Oct. 6, is reordering its port calls, visiting Costa Maya today (Oct. 8) and Cozumel on Oct. 9.
Mariner of the Seas, which departed Galveston on Oct. 5, will skip its call to Cozumel scheduled for today (Oct. 8) and replace it with a day at sea.
Adventure of the Seas, which departed Port Canaveral on Oct. 5 is replacing its call to Perfect Day at CocoCay planned for Oct. 10 and replacing it with a call to Grand Turk.
Orlando theme park and resort closures
Walt Disney World is mostly continuing normal operations and monitoring the storm. So far, these alterations have been made:
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, including dining and recreation locations, the Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa will temporarily close starting Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 11 a.m.
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa will likely remain closed until Sunday, Oct. 13.
- The Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge will likely reopen on Friday, Oct. 11.
The resort and theme park’s hurricane policy states that guests can cancel or reschedule hotel packages and most room-only reservations without any cancellation or change fees. Reservations can be modified or cancelled online.
Universal Orlando Resort has made the following changes to its schedule this week:
- Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Universal CityWalk will be open until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and will be closed on Thursday, Oct. 10. Hours of operation are subject to change based on the weather forecast and some attractions and experience availability may be limited on Wednesday while the resort prepares for an early closure.
- Universal Volcano Bay will be closed on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10.
- Halloween Horror Nights is canceled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10.
- Hotels will remain open and operational.
Those who purchased vacation packages or hotel-room-only accommodations should contact Universal in advance to cancel or reschedule without any fees. The resort intends to fully reopen on Friday, Oct. 11.
SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are closed Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10. Both resorts will accept date-intended tickets for closure days through Dec. 31, 2024, with no action required. The resorts will give updates on their reopening on Friday, Oct. 11.
Flight waivers
Air Canada has a waiver for most Florida airports on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, and then a separate waiver for Cancun (CUN) on Oct. 7 and 9.
American Airlines has a travel waiver out for a dozen Florida airports, including some major ones such as Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), and Tampa (TPA), and other regional ones including Daytona Beach (DAB) and Key West (EYW). American’s waiver includes flights from those airports scheduled from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 and allows for new flights to be booked without penalty through Oct. 17.
Delta Air Lines has a waiver for nine Florida airports—Daytona Beach (DAB), Ft. Myers (RSW), Gainesville (GNV), Jacksonville (JAX), Key West (EYW), Melbourne (MLB), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). Delta’s waiver includes flights scheduled for Oct. 7 through Oct. 10 and allows rebooking through Oct. 15 without penalty.
JetBlue has a fee waiver for eight Florida airports including Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MC), and Tampa (TPA), along with Cancun (CUN), for travel from Oct. 7 through Oct. 10. It is allowing for rebooking through Oct. 17.
Southwest has a waiver for four airports—Ft. Myers (RSW), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). That waiver includes travel from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 and allows for rebookings within 14 of the original flight with no fare difference.
Southwest also has separate waivers for Oct. 9 and 10 for Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Jacksonville (JAX), Miami (MIA), and West Palm Beach (PBI), along with one for Cancun for Oct. 8 and 9.
United Airlines has a waiver for travel through most of its Florida airports including Key West (EYW), Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Miami (MIA) and Tampa (TPA). The waiver is for flights through Oct. 12 and allows for rebookings through Oct. 19.
WestJet has a waiver for three airports—Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), and Ft. Myers (RSW). WestJet’s waiver is for travel through Oct. 10.