Hurricane Helene to close Tampa airport as warnings issued for Georgia and Florida: Is it safe to travel?
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.
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.
What airlines and airports are affected?
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.
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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 waivers for travel scheduled between Wednesday and Friday, as did Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant.
If you’re scheduled to fly over the next few days, make sure you check your reservation and check in with your airline to understand your options.
In a statement, a Delta spokesperson said that the airline’s operations and customer teams in Atlanta “continue to monitor the projected path of Hurricane Helene and will make adjustments to flight schedules as needed.”
Will it affect cruise line operations?
Port Tampa Bay and Port Canaveral are currently open and conducting normal port operations. However, both ports are preparing for the storm and have advised that cruise schedules over the next few days will likely be affected.
Additionally, some cruise lines — including Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line — have altered their itineraries due to the hurricane.
Cruisers who plan to depart from those two ports over the next few days should call their cruise line for updates on Hurricane Helene’s potential impact on their itinerary.
Any impact on theme parks?
So far, some parks in the Orlando and Tampa areas — including Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Universal’s Volcano Bay water park — have decided to close on Thursday. The rest of Universal’s parks are currently operating as normal and monitoring conditions.
At Disney World, only Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and its miniature golf courses are closed Thursday. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is also canceled Thursday night, with park hours extending from 6 to 8 p.m. for regular guests.
Legoland Florida Resort and SeaWorld Orlando are currently operating as normal.
Is it safe to travel to Florida and Georgia?
If you have an upcoming trip to Florida or Georgia scheduled, stay ahead of the developments in your specific area. It might be best to rearrange travel.
Airlines have issued travel alerts offering free changes and more flexibility, so if you have flights booked Thursday or Friday, it may make sense to rebook for a later time or cancel altogether. Florida already declared a state of emergency for 41 of the state’s 67 counties; Georgia has also declared a state of emergency in parts of that state.
A flood watch is already in place for Atlanta. If the storm ends up making a big impact there, it could mess up flights across the country since ATL is a massive hub.
Bottom line
If you have travel booked in the next few days, you should pay special attention to airport delays and cancellations as a big hurricane can impact travel across the country. If you have plans to travel to Georgia or Florida, it might be best to reschedule or cancel altogether. If you are traveling to a destination that could potentially be affected, you should make alternative plans now.
Airlines have activated more flexible change and cancellation rules. If you booked a trip with a credit card that provides some built-in trip insurance, look at the terms of those benefits to learn what expenses you may be able to recoup in the event of any nonrefundable charges.
Although this goes without saying, you should not travel to any hurricane-impacted part of a state where officials have told people to stay off the roads.
We will continue to update this developing story as the storm progresses.
For more helpful tips on navigating travel during hurricane season, read:
