Hundreds Of Flights Delayed, Canceled Across FL Because Of Winter Storm

Hundreds of flights are delayed or canceled across Florida on Monday morning as wintry weather pummels the Northeast.

As the winter storm moved across the country over the weekend, the storm system caused major travel disruptions across much of the U.S., including in the Sunshine State, leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights, some as early as Friday.

The storm brought freezing rain, snow and power outages affecting more than half of the U.S. population.

At Tampa International Airport, 80 flights were delayed and 72 cancelled on Monday as of about 10:30 a.m., according to the airport’s website. That accounts for about 31 percent of the flights in and out of TIA on Monday.

There were 104 cancellations and 152 delays at Miami International Airport on Monday around the same time, according to the Fight Aware website.

Nearby, Palm Beach International Airportwas reporting 26 delays and 72 flight cancellations, and Fort Lauderdale International Airport had 77 delays and 114 cancellations, the website showed.

So far on Monday, Orlando International Airport has seen 129 flight delays and 133 cancellations, data showed.

There are 14 flights delayed and 25 canceled at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, Flight Aware said.

Nationwide, there are 12,867 flight delays on Monday and 4,814 cancellations, according to Flight Aware.

More than 15,000 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Sunday and more than 11,000 delayed, CW 34 reported.

Airline officials across Florida say that travelers should check on their flight status before heading to the airport on Monday.

“Winter Storm Fern is causing flight cancellations at MIA. Travelers are advised to verify their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport,” Miami International Airport wrote in a social media post, adding, “We appreciate your patience as these weather-related issues are beyond our control. Stay safe and stay updated.”

MIA airline officials said that those flying on Monday should:

• Check their flight status
• Arrive early
• Follow airline instructions for rebooking and baggage.

Albert Hewitt told Bay News 9 that he slept at Tampa International Sunday night after trying to get a flight out of Orlando to Atlantic City this weekend.

“I was in Orlando," he said. "Was supposed to leave Saturday night, got cancelled, last night got cancelled again. I went up to the counter to rebook and they told me Thursday. I was like, 'do you have any other places I could fly out of, anything,' and he said I have one seat from Tampa to AC (Atlantic City) Monday night.”

Another traveler flying out of MIA told WSVN on Sunday that he rearranged his trip to try to get ahead of the bad weather forecast back home in the Philadelphia area, which was expecting about 2 feet of snow.

“We’re trying to beat it now, but we had to leave our vacation a day and a half early,” Albert Snyder said.

Another traveler, Mendie Berry, told WSVN, “It’s an inconvenience, but we’re also travelling in January, so this is what it looks like!”

Meanwhile, New Yorker Craig Nepolitan told Fox 35 on Friday that he made contingency plans in case his family gets stuck in Florida after a weekend Disney trip because of the weather back home.

“We booked this way before the storm and so, right now, we ended up booking a hotel for Monday night just in case because we were supposed to fly out Monday night,” he said.