Hurricane Florence: More Than 2,000 Flights Canceled
by Jessica Montevago
Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolinas on Friday morning. Photo: SPSD of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS).
As the Southeast begins to feel the impact of Hurricane Florence, more than 2,000 flights have been canceled and operations at airports along the coast have been suspended.
About 2,040 flights nationwide have been canceled from Wednesday through Sunday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. On Friday alone, 772 flights were grounded as Florence makes its way inland in the Carolinas.
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At least 11 airports in the region have closed or suspended flights; runways at South Carolina’s Charleston International Airport closed Wednesday night and will not reopen “until Hurricane Florence passes and it is safe,” according to the airport’s website. Myrtle Beach International Airport in South Carolina has also suspended commercial operations.
In North Carolina, services and flights have been suspended at Wilmington International Airport.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport both had more than 100 flight cancellations for Friday, according to FlightAware.
Airlines have extended waivers and advisories for travelers with itineraries traveling to or from airports in the path of the storm. Carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines will all waive change fees to affected itineraries this week.
Florence made landfall at around 7:00 a.m. in the Carolinas and is reportedly dumping three inches of rain per hour in the area. The storm is expected to linger in the area for another whole day, according to CNN. In some areas, the total rainfall is forecasted to reach 40 inches. As of Friday morning, more than a half a million people had lost power in North and South Carolina.
