Tropical Storm Isaac, the 9th storm of the 2012 Hurricane season is causing a real headache for travelers. The storm has already caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled and delayed, with more to come.
As Tropical Storm Isaac passed the southern tip of Florida over the weekend, airlines were forced to keep their travelers safe and cancel flights. On Sunday, 857 flight were cancelled with another 235 cancelled on Monday.
The number of flight cancellations is expected to grow and Isaac grows and makes its way towards Louisiana and Mississippi. As an evacuation order has been set for some areas of Louisiana, many are expected to leave the area to avoid another Katrina-like storm.
On Sunday, The Miami Herald reported that over 500 flights were canceled at Miami International Airport, many of which were American Airlines flights. Further north, in Fort Lauderdale, 135 flights have been cancelled since Friday. Dozens of others were cancelled at West Palm Beach.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware.com says that Key West International Airport and the Florida Keys Marathon airport were closed because of Isaac. It is not known when they will resume flights. Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International airport remain open, but most of the flight cancellations have occurred between these two locations.
"Tampa, home of the 2012 GOP convention, has only had 26 cancellations (Sunday) and four cancellations (Monday)," FlightAware adds in a statement.
Of the 235 cancellations of Monday, 167 of them are to/from Miami and 152 are American/American Eagle flights. However, the airports are expected to be back to normal in Florida by Monday afternoon as Isaac leaves the area.
According to FlightAware's number, 1,092 flights have been cancelled due to Isaac just between Sunday and Monday.
Airlines are hoping to get back up and running soon but it depends on the condition of the airports.
American Airlines, which saw hundreds of cancellations, hopes to have all of its Mimi flights running by 10 a.m. on Monday, but this also depends on which path Isaac takes.
On Sunday, low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines cancelled all of its afternoon and evening flight at the Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and West Palm Beach airports.
"Our ability to resume our scheduled service is contingent upon the conditions of the runways, taxiways, other airport services, and city's infrastructure to/from the airport," Southwest says in a statement posted on its website late Sunday.
Southwest Florida Regional Airport near Fort Meyers is also taking a heavy hit. Southwest Airlines is stopping all flight after 12:30 p.m. while AirTran will do the same after 1:45 p.m. Spirit Airlines will also have its last flight at 1:36 p.m. American Airlines cancelled some flight on Sunday evening.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
