Floridians were bracing for Hurricane Milton’s impact as airlines canceled hundreds of flights, theme parks planned to close certain regions, and cruise lines rerouted.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that on Wednesday, the Category 4 storm—whose peak sustained winds are close to 145 miles per hour—will make landfall on Florida’s west coast. A state of emergency has been declared in more than 50 counties in Florida.
Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET, Tampa International Airport said that it would “repoen when safe to do so.”
Orlando International Airport will close on Wednesday at eight in the morning. Southwest Airlines, which has nearly a quarter of the market share in Orlando, has dropped 402 flights from its entire Wednesday schedule, according to FlightAware data.
According to FlightAware, more than 750 flights to Orlando—more than 85% of the Wednesday schedule—were canceled. On Wednesday, the majority of flights into and out of Southwest Florida International Airport—which serves Ft. Myers—as well as Tampa were canceled.
For impacted customers, carriers waived change fees and pricing discrepancies. Prior to Milton’s anticipated arrival, American Airlines and United Airlines increased the number of flights departing from Florida.
In the meanwhile, Disney said that starting on Wednesday at 11 a.m., its Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa will all temporarily close.
“At this time, our park operations and hours are continuing as normal,” said to the Universal Orlando Resort website, although it advised guests to check back for updates.
According to United Parks, Busch Gardens Tampa will be closed from Tuesday through Thursday. “SeaWorld Orlando is still accessible. We are still keeping an eye on the situation and Hurricane Milton’s course,” the company stated on its website.
Carnival informed passengers that it would be modifying certain routes and destinations to escape the storm and that ports in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami were probably going to close.
