Orlando International Airport rescinds closure plans

Orlando International Airport
Earlier airport officials announced Orlando International Airport would close at 2 a.m. Monday

Orlando International Airport is not shutting down Monday morning after all.

With Hurricane Dorian’s projected track changing over the weekend toward largely sparing Florida, airport officials announced late Saturday night they have decided to not shut down operations at 2 a.m. Monday as had previously been decided.

The reversal of that decision is among the biggest of Hurricane Dorian preparations being reversed as the powerful Category 4 hurricane gives all indications of avoiding Florida and instead heading toward the Carolinas.

“Based upon updated Hurricane Dorian forecasts, in conjunction with the National Weather Service and after conferring with our airport stakeholders and the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Control and TRACON, airport management decided to rescind the closure previously noticed for Orlando International Airport,” announced a statement released late Saturday night by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

“Orlando International Airport will continue to operate on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Storm conditions will be closely monitored with a focus on insuring passenger and employee safety,” the statement added.

Passengers were advised to contact their airlines and rental car companies directly for flight and rental car information.

GOAA cautioned that while Dorian’s path has been changed it continues to be a powerful and unpredictable storm.

As a result, GOAA noted that the airport’s Emergency Operations Center will continue around-the-clock monitoring of the hurricane and airport leaders will work with industry partners to determine if any further adjustments to airport operations are necessary.

The latest projections from the National Hurricane Center have Dorian passing about 100 miles east of Orlando early Wednesday morning. At that point it still would be a major hurricane, with sustained winds up to 115 mph near its eyewall.

Scott Powers

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at [email protected].



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, William March, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704