CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Hurricane Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida Wednesday, and so far Tuesday evening, the category 2 storm, has disrupted some air travel.
As storm Idalia approached Florida Tuesday, it left some air travelers here in the Northeast guessing, whether their plans would go up in the air.
“I’m always worried about am I going to make it, will my flight get canceled, will I have to get back onto another flight, I just want to get home,” says Jayne O’Grady of New York.
Others, confident to just wait out the storm, like Chris Young of Waterford, Conn., “I don’t think this one is as bad or as serious, so I don’t think we are concerned about it.”
Tampa International Airport stopping all commercial air traffic on Tuesday ahead of Idalia’s landfall. Tallahassee International Airport also closing Tuesday night. Bradley International Airport also experiencing delays and cancellation for flights going to and from Florida, in the areas of Jacksonville and Tampa.
Springfield resident Francisco Rodriguez, along with his family, relieved to be back home after visiting family in Florida, “We were scared that we were not going to be able to come back home, after almost nine days, but thank god we made it.”
Rodriguez says flying out of Orlando wasn’t without any issues however, “They held us for at least 20 more minutes, they closed the runway, there was at least 15 aircraft just waiting to get out or not.”
Tampa International Airport will remain closed until damage has been assessed after the storm. Officials from Southwest International Airport in the Fort Myers say there may be delays or changes to traveler’s flights.
Kristina D’Amours is a reporter who is a part of the evening 22News team. Follow Kristina on X @KristinaD_WWLP and view her bio to see more of her work.
