Hurricane Helene travel impacts: Tampa airport to close, warnings issued

26.09.2024 - 12:59 / thepointsguy.com

Much of the Southeast has been under a hurricane warning Wednesday as Florida and Georgia brace for Hurricane Helene. It's expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm late Thursday near the Big Bend of Florida.

The storm is expected to cause severe impacts across much of western Florida and Georgia. Forecasts show a track that's likely to bring the eye of the storm up through Tallahassee, Florida, and near Atlanta before the remnants move slightly west into Tennessee.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued several storm warnings.

Heavy winds and rain will likely impact Florida's west coast as the storm makes landfall. Tampa International Airport (TPA) has already announced plans to halt operations while evacuations were ordered across various parts of Florida.

Related: Florida declares state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Helene — here's what you need to know

Forecasters are warning of tropical storm-force winds, heavy rain, lightning and possible tornadoes and floods.

Travel operators are already making changes to prepare for the storm. Here's what you need to know.

TPA officials said Wednesday that the airport plans to close at 2 a.m. Thursday and remain closed "until it can assess any damage after the storm."

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) — where Allegiant Air operates commercial flights — also said it would close Thursday. This airport plans to reopen by Friday.

It was not immediately apparent how Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) would be affected. ATL is the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic and the headquarters and home hub for Delta Air Lines.

The airport sits on the border between Clayton and Fulton counties in Georgia, which were both under a tropical storm watch on Wednesday; the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency warned residents to prepare to be without power for at least 72 hours. In a statement Wednesday morning on X, the airport said that it had a severe weather plan in place.

Delta issued a travel waiver for passengers scheduled to fly to, from or through ATL on Friday, Sept. 27; the waiver allows them to rebook travel for Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 without paying a difference in fares. The new flight must be booked and occur by Oct. 1.

The airline issued a broader waiver for travel to or from airports across much of the forecasted path, including ones in cities in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mexico and Cuba. That waiver applies to travelers scheduled to fly Sept. 25 to 27. Travel must be rebooked and occur by Oct. 4.

Other airlines issued similar waivers ahead of the storm. American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue each offered various