While air travel throughout the country remains affected by Superstorm Sandy, officials at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers say the number of cancellations is decreasing and operations are beginning to return to normal.
Superstorm Sandy’s impact on the Northeast United States has grounded more than 18,000 flights around the world and Southwest Florida has been no exception. Southwest Florida International Airport experienced 49 cancellations on Monday, 57 on Tuesday and is down to 21 flight cancellations Wednesday.
“It’s certainly better today for the travelers that are trying to head up to the Eastern seaboard. Flights have resumed to places like Philadelphia, Washington Reagan airport, Baltimore and Boston,” said Lee County Port Authority spokeswoman Victoria Moreland. “But flights into the New York airports are still cancelled. So people flying to Newark, La Guardia, Kennedy and White Plains, New York; those flights are not operating today.”
Moreland says the airport hasn’t been unusually busy as many travelers have been good about checking the status of their flights before heading to the airport. Travelers can check the status of their flight online at flyLCPA.com, but Moreland says the best way to check the status of a flight is to contact the air carrier.
“During this time of year we operate about 155 flights a day so on Monday and Tuesday, nearly one-third of the flights were cancelled in and out of the airport,” said Moreland. “But today a much smaller number and we hope by tomorrow and the following days this week, we’ll go back to a normal 155 flights.”