Florida Airports Resume Operations After Hurricane Milton

Florida on Friday continues to dig itself out from the destruction of Hurricane Milton, one of the most powerful storms ever to form in the Gulf of Mexico, which hit the state as a Category 3 hurricane on Thursday.

While many along the Gulf Coast escaped the worst-case scenario, Milton still brought 18 inches of rainfall, 10 feet of storm surge,  and winds up to 90 mph to some areas of Florida, and caused at least 10 deaths, according to the Associated Press.

For travel, Milton wreaked havoc on airline schedules out of Florida, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flight on Thursday, which is expected to have a carry-over effect into the weekend. Most of those cancellations were at airports that shut ahead of the storm’s arrival, including Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA), which combined for more than 700 cancellations.

As Florida continues to dig out of Milton’s damage and plan for recovery, here’s how travel is recovering on Friday morning.

Two major Florida airports reopen

Tampa International Airport (TPA) has reopened for passengers as of 6 a.m. on Friday morning, and flights are set to resume starting at 8 a.m. There are still some disruptions at the airport, including with car rental companies and with retail and food and drink inside the terminals. But flights are starting to get back on track.

According to FlightAware, more than a quarter of all departures from Tampa are canceled on Friday (74 departures), but a significant improvement over the previous two days.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) also reopened early on Friday. That airport received some arrivals on Thursday evening but did not see any departures or international arrivals and was still telling flyers to stay away.  

Just like Tampa, about a quarter of all flights from Orlando are canceled on Friday (122 departures as of 7 a.m.).

Travelers headed to both Tampa and Orlando should check with their airline before going to the airport.

Other airports remain closed

Some smaller Florida airports are still shut on Friday, including Sarasota Bradenton International (SRQ), which will remain closed until at least Saturday.

St. Pete-Clearwater International (PIE) closed after its last flight on Tuesday and has yet to reopen. St. Pete says it is still assessing damages and a FAA notice says the airport will be closed until 4 p.m. EST. Close to 90% of Friday departures from St. Pete have been canceled as of early on Friday,  

Cruise port operations  

Most major cruise ports on both sides of Florida closed, or severely restricted operations, ahead of Milton’s arrival. Several plan to start reopening on Friday.

As of Thursday, the Port of Tampa Bay was still without power. It did report that Milton produced “no significant damage” to docks and that roadways surrounding the port were clear.

JAXPORT says it is opening on Friday morning “as soon as post-storm facility assessments are complete.” The plan there is to open the main gates for cargo first, and then for cruise ships after.

Port Canaveral has reopened its gates but says that shoreside operations remain at Condition ZULU, which means the port is still closed to sea traffic until more assessment can be made.

Port Everglades and Port Miami are both open and operational.

All cruise passengers should check with their cruise line before going to port. Most major cruise lines, including Carnival, Royal, MSC, and Viking, made changes to scheduled itineraries through Florida on Thursday and Friday.