Pending a review of the facilities, infrastructure and staffing, Delta plans to operate a flight from Atlanta to Charleston on Friday evening, and restart operations at the other airports Saturday. More flight cancellations could come depending on the status of facilities and infrastructure after the storm. Southwest Airlines, the second-largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson, said by Wednesday evening it had canceled 264 flights this week due to Florence. Dallas-based Southwest has suspended operations in Charleston, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Norfolk and Richmond through early Saturday morning. Southwest advised travelers “to anticipate situational delays” and more cancellations based on weather conditions on the ground and in the mid-Atlantic airspace. Delta encouraged passengers to check their flight status, and the airline is waiving certain change fees through Sept. 17 for passengers with flights booked to, from or through affected airports who want to change their travel plans. Southwest is also allowing passengers with flights booked to, from or through affected cities to rebook without paying an additional charge, with certain restrictions.<doc-sep>Hurricane Florence, currently rated a Category 2 storm, is heading for the East Coast, affecting airports and flights in the Mid-Atlantic region. The storm was expected to hit the Carolinas on Thursday or Friday, while states like Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky will likely experience heavy rainfall, flooding and winds throughout the weekend. The National Weather Service said Florence could be "the storm of a lifetime." Airlines have already started to cancel thousands of flights across the Southeast. According to the website Flight Aware, 586 flights in and out of the U.S. will be canceled. Some airlines are waving fees for flight date changes, baggage, and pets. See the latest updates on Hurricane Florence's track, path and potential affected areas here. As of Thursday, here's what's been announced so far regarding airports and flights in Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta; Charlotte; North Carolina; and elsewhere. Flight Cancellations The Willmington, South Carolina, airport has been closed, and the Myrtle Beach airport has closed for commercial flights. Delta has cancelled a total of 150 flights ahead of the hurricane, including 70 flights that had been scheduled for Friday. Charleston International Airport (KCHS) Charleston International Airport announced Florence would affect operations until at least Friday. The airport runways were closed Tuesday at midnight, the airport announced in an update. "The safety of our passengers and airport employees is our number one priority," Charleston Aviation Authority CEO Paul Campbell said. "The runways will reopen when the Air Force determines it is safe, and that depends on the impact HurricaneFlorence has on the area." A sampling of the flights affected is listed below. JetBlue flight 1374, scheduled to leave for New York at 5:08 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled. Southwest Airlines flight 371, scheduled to leave for Nashville, Texas, on Friday at 5:40 p.m., has been canceled. Mesa Airlines flight 6093, scheduled to leave for Houston, Texas, on Saturday at 7 a.m., has been canceled. Southwest Airlines flight 3415, scheduled to leave for Chicago on Saturday at 7:05 a.m., has been canceled. UPDATE: Due to the upcoming severe weather impact expected from Hurricane Florence through the southeastern United States, flights have been advance cancelled. A passenger accommodation policy (link below) remains in place for customers https://t.co/CUjMhw6gE8 pic.twitter.com/9VcA1FYmbn — Frontier Airlines (@FlyFrontier) September 12, 2018 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport The Atlanta Airport urged passengers to monitor their specific airlines for updates regarding the hurricane. Some of the flights affected by the storm are listed below. Delta Airlines flight 1971, scheduled to leave for Charleston, South Carolina, at 4:53 pm on Thursday, has been canceled. SkyWest Airlines flight 3604, scheduled to leave for Fayetteville, North Carolina, at 5:14 pm on Thursday, has been canceled. Delta Airlines flight 2023, scheduled to leave for Charleston, South Carolina, at 6:02 pm on Thursday, has been canceled. Delta Airlines flight 1607, scheduled to leave for Charleston, South Carolina at 7:25 pm on Thursday, has been canceled. Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Airport urged passengers to check in with their airlines regarding specific flights and said many airlines had travel waivers in place for the hurricane. Some of the flights affected are listed below. American Airlines flight 765, scheduled to leave for Charleston, South Carolina, at 8:35 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled. Envoy Airlines flight 3975, scheduled to leave for Greensboro, North Carolina, at 10:14 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled. Republic Airlines flight 4402, scheduled to leave for Columbia, South Carolina, at 10:35 pm on Friday, has been canceled. Piedmont Airlines flight 5010, scheduled to leave for Florence, South Carolina, at 10:35 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled. As Hurricane Florence continues its approach, we've proactively cancelled over 70 flights in affected cities, w/ airports in Charleston, S.C., Fayetteville, N.C., Jacksonville, N.C. & Wilmington, N.C. closing later today ahead of the storm. https://t.co/LvIxCSlkwt — Delta (@Delta) September 12, 2018 Raleigh-Durham International Airport Raleigh Durham International Airport also urged passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport on Thursday. The airport said there were approximately 120 cancellations—55 arrivals and 65 departures. Southwest Airlines announced it had canceled all flights from the airport on Thursday and Friday. Air Canada, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue said they were not planning to operate from the airport, while American, Frontier and United announced scattered cancellations. A sampling of the flights affected is listed below. Frontier Airlines flight 1139, scheduled to leave for Austin, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled. Envoy Airlines flight 4055, scheduled to leave for New York City at 7:45 p.m. on Friday, has been canceled.<doc-sep>The seas should be at their roughest Friday, with swells reaching up to 8 feet off Palm Beach County and up to 6 feet off Broward and Miami-Dade, said meteorologist Barry Baxter with the National Weather Service in Miami. The seas should drop down to 4 feet or less on Saturday as Florence weakens and moves over land.<doc-sep>Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina on Friday morning with top winds of 90 miles per hour, prompting flight cancellations in the Southeast through the weekend. Several airports in the region suspended operations. A spokeswoman at Charleston International Airport said flights were canceled until at least Friday night. Airlines canceled more than 700 flights scheduled for Friday. Some 200 flights, or about half of the departures and arrivals at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, were canceled. More than 400 flights in and out of the region scheduled for this weekend were also canceled, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.com. The cancellations, over 1,500, are minimal compared with last year's hurricane season, when more 20,000 flights were called off during three devastating hurricanes last year — Harvey, Irma and Maria, which hit major airlines' hubs. Airlines urged travelers to monitor their websites for information about the storm. Southwest Airlines stopped stop flying out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Thursday through at least Friday night. American Airlines canceled more than 800 flights in and out of the region through Sunday but said it did not expect the storm to cause it to cancel flights in its Charlotte hub. American, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines said they capped some airfares at levels below what last-minute tickets would cost. Airlines were criticized on social media last year when fares soared ahead of storms. Last-minute fares generally spike during periods of high demand and airlines have to change prices manually for events like a large storm. Carriers also waived fees for changing flights, baggage and for in-cabin pets for travelers who could be affected by the storm. Delta said it added about 1,000 seats to its service to the Carolinas ahead of Florence. Charlotte airport said its staff on Wednesday checked emergency equipment and supplies like backup power and storm drains. Airlines generally offer waivers and cancel flights ahead of time so travelers are not stranded at the airport and crews are not out of place when operations resume. They will also routinely keep aircraft away from affected airports. Constant high wind of at least 41 mph can prevent Federal Aviation Administration staff from servicing radar and radio towers, so some systems could be shut down pre-emptively, the agency said. Flight disruptions could continue after the storm has passed. The FAA said it could restrict air traffic, including passenger flights, to clear airspace for emergency flights. Hurricane Florence will likely weaken into a tropical depression with winds under 40 mph and could affect Kentucky and Ohio followed by the Northeast early next week, the National Hurricane Center said. That could disrupt flights into the middle of the week. Other companies with employees in evacuation zones shut down before the storm. Boeing, for example, said it flew some of its 787 wide-body jets from its factory in Charleston on Tuesday to Seattle to keep them out of the storm's path. It also suspended operations in Charleston as staff were evacuated ahead of the the hurricane.<doc-sep>
Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina on Friday, pummeling the southeast with heavy rain and 90 mph winds, affecting airports and flights in the Mid-Atlantic region. At least six airports, including Charleston International Airport (KCH), the Fayetteville, North Carolina Airport (FAY), the Jacksonville, North Carolina Airport (OAJ), the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Airport (MYR), the New Bern, North Carolina Airport (EW), and the Wilmington, North Carolina Airport (ILM), will remain closed throughout Friday. Thousands of flights across the Southeast have been canceled. According to the website Flight Aware, 771 flights in and out of the U.S. will be canceled on Friday. Some airlines are waving fees for flight date changes, baggage, and pets. As of Friday, here's what's been announced so far regarding airports and flights in Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta; Charlotte; North Carolina; and elsewhere. American Air now waving baggage fees and pet fees for passengers escaping storm. @wcnc @CLTAirport @AmericanAir — Hannah (Welker) Allton (@hannahwelker) September 14, 2018 Charleston International Airport (KCHS) Charleston airport will post an update sometime on Friday regarding flights for Saturday. For now, all flights in and out of the airport are cancelled. "Rapidly changing conditions associated with the path of Hurricane Florence will affect general aviation and commercial air service operations at Charleston International Airport at least through Friday, Sept.14," read a statement on their website. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Some flights out of Atlanta have been canceled, including all of the flights that were scheduled to land in the closed airports listed above. Some of the flights affected by the storm are listed below. Southwest Airlines flight 2612, scheduled to leave for Richmond, Virginia at 2:45 pm on Friday, has been cancelled. SkyWest Airlines flight 3829, scheduled to leave for Jacksonville, North Carolina at 4:22 pm on Friday, has been cancelled. Delta Airlines flight 1124, scheduled to leave for Fayetteville, North Carolina at 8:46 pm on Friday, has been cancelled. SkyWest Airlines flight 3699, scheduled to leave for Jacksonville, North Carolina at 9:20 pm on Friday, has been cancelled. While many flights are cancelled in the path of #HurricaneFlorence, some airports are also closed. To check the status of airports near you, visit https://t.co/GsYTaI0B49. Avoid traveling if the conditions are dangerous. #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/cx3oCnKrZM — The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) September 13, 2018 Charlotte Douglas International Airport The airport urged passengers to check with their airlines to verify the status of their flight. Flights scheduled to land in airports that are now closed have all been cancelled. Some of the other flights affected by the storm are listed below. Republic Airlines flight 4693, scheduled to leave for Hilton Head Island, South Carolina at 6:12 pm on Saturday, has been cancelled. Envoy Airlines flight 3868, scheduled to leave for Springfield, Missourri at 6:25 pm on Saturday, has been cancelled. Lufthansa Airlines flight 429, scheduled to leave for Munich, Germany at 6:30 pm on Saturday, has been cancelled. Envoy Airlines flight 3549, scheduled to leave for Norfolk, Virginia at 7:30 am on Sunday, has been cancelled. Raleigh-Durham International Airport The airport is asking passengers not to go to the airport without checking on their flight status with their airline first. Some of the flights cancelled because of the storm are listed below. JetBlue Airlines flight 1125, scheduled to leave for Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 7:00 am on Saturday, has been cancelled. American Airlines flight 1088, scheduled to leave for Miami, Florida at 7:17 am on Saturday, has been cancelled. Frontier Airlines flight 1128, scheduled to leave for San Juan, Puerto Rico at 12:20 pm on Saturday, has been cancelled. Frontier Airlines flight 821, scheduled to leave for Kansas City Missouri at 4:00 pm on Saturday, has been cancelled.