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Is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport closing because of Hurricane Irma? Is the airport open or closed?
The airport will be closed after 7:45 p.m. on Friday, September 8, as well as on Saturday and Sunday. The National Weather Service is projecting that hurricane conditions are possible for Fort Lauderdale on Saturday and Sunday.
“Due to Hurricane Irma, the airport will close on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10. The last flight will depart FLL at 7:45 p.m. on Friday, September 8,” FLL reported. “Contact your airline for the latest flight status as there have been cancellations and delays. You can also select ‘Flight Status’ in the upper left hand corner of the web’s home page.”
Fort Lauderdale airport was overwhelming – people trying to get out of Florida.
Other airports are taking a different approach to the hurricane. In Miami, for example, the airport “remains open, and will only close if severe damage or safety concerns from Hurricane Irma result in stranded passengers and non-essential airport employees being evacuated to nearby shelters after the storm.” Read more about that airport here.
In the interim, the Fort Lauderdale airport warned travelers that its parking garages are already full.
The airport also noted that it is not a hurricane shelter.
National Hurricane Center
The airport was already experiencing many delays and cancellations because of the hurricane.
The powerful hurricane is increasingly likely to make landfall in Southern Florida, according to the September 7 update from the National Weather Service. The storm’s path is somewhat unpredictable.
NWSHurricane Irma wind speed projections on September 7.
The evening hazardous weather outlook on September 7 for Fort Lauderdale reported, “Hurricane Irma continues moving west northwest as it approaches the southeastern Bahamas tonight, before impacting South Florida this weekend and into early next week. The primary concerns for South Florida at this time are the potential for destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge. The main window of concern for Hurricane Irma impacts is early Saturday morning through Monday. Additional concerns exist for flooding rains, isolated tornadoes, significant beach erosion and surf, and life-threatening rip currents.”
Fort Lauderdale Int’l Airport chaos ahead of #Irma
There are some evacuations in Fort Lauderdale. You can read about them here: