Hurricane Irma: Flight cancellations top 12,500; even more expected

UPDATE: Irma: Florida airports start to assess damage; cancellations now at 13,000 and counting

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Airline cancellations continued to pile up in Florida and the Southeast as Hurricane Irma was set to make landfall later Sunday.

Nearly 9,000 flights to or from Florida had been canceled because of Irma, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Additionally, at least another 275 had been grounded at airports in Georgia and South Carolina. Overall, more than 12,500 flights have been canceled since Irma first began affecting flights in the Caribbean, FlightAware reports at 5 p.m. ET.

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Ominously for travelers, hundreds more — possibly thousands more — may ultimately be tacked on to that tally as Irma moves past Florida and inland over the Southeast.

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On Sunday, flights had been halted at more than a dozen airports in Florida. Among those were some of the nation’s busiest, such as those serving Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

Flights would likely remain grounded at least through Monday, possibly longer. Even once the weather clears, airlines and airports will need to get crews back in place – a daunting task since many workers have evacuated to other locations.

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Disruptions had also spilled over into Georgia and other states in the Southeast. Savannah’s airport, for example, said airlines had canceled most flights there by Saturday evening.

Already, nearly 2,700 flights had been preemptively grounded for Monday and another 900 for Tuesday, FlightAware counted as of 5:15 p.m. ET on Sunday. 

Schedules in the region could take an even bigger hit as the work week begins. Current forecasts called for Irma to head inland, putting it near metro Atlanta – home to the world’s busiest airport –by Tuesday.

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Delta, which operates its busiest hub there, acknowledged the possibility of disruptions there.  The carrier urged customers ticketed to connect through Atlanta early next week to change their itineraries to connect through a different Delta hub.

“Customers with itineraries involving Atlanta Monday afternoon through Tuesday are encouraged to use delta.com to change their travel plans,” Delta said in a statement on Sunday. 

Delta’s advisory came as all big U.S. airlines have added flexible rebooking policies for Irma that cover travel through airports in Florida and the Southeast. In addition to Florida and Georgia, many of the various rebooking policies have grown to include airports in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Fliers hoping to travel to the region next week should expect a slow and uneven recovery, though details will depend on exactly what Irma’s impact turns out to be. Beyond Florida, travelers to other parts of the Southeast should keep an eye on Irma’s precise track and check ahead on the status of their flights.