Severe weather has been causing havoc at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), and the airport has since been closed for much of Wednesday afternoon.
Heavy rain and windy conditions have halted flights and ground transportation around the airport. The airport stresses that passengers contact their airline before heading to the airport to avoid an already congested airport.
Ongoing tornado warnings have also meant that Wednesday flights have been canceled or services delayed. This will undoubtedly have a continued knock-on effect throughout the week, subject to weather conditions.
Aircraft in rain
Photo: Jaromir Chalabala / Shutterstock
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Runway is closed
As posted on the airport’s Facebook page, the runway has been closed from around 18:00 local time until further notice. Heavy rainfall and surface water have subdued the runway and apron, and travelers are knee-deep in water in the drop-off zone at the front of the airport.
Traffic is in gridlock as cars have stalled, and passengers try to pick up friends or family from the airport or attempt to enter the airport in desperate hope for their travel plans to proceed.
Fort Lauderdale Airport has instructed passengers not to attempt to enter or leave the airport until current weather conditions improve, as entrance and exit ways, both on the road and foot, remain flooded. Locals have taken to Twitter to express their disbelief at the current weather, with car parking buildings flooded and travelers resorting to wading through water to get to the terminal. National Weather Service has noted that water has reached the tops of car tires. However, unofficial weather rainfall readings have recorded at least 10 inches of rain.
Severe weather watch
South Florida has been under a tornado, flash flooding, and severe thunderstorm watch for the third day in a row as deteriorating conditions have thrashed the southern counties of Florida. The Kinney Tunnel in Fort Lauderdale has also been closed by the city.
The departure board looks grim.
With the runway closed, the departure board looks grim at FLL. Reviewing the Broward County, Fort Lauderdale Airport website, most flights have been canceled for most of the afternoon and evening. According to the airport’s website, the first flight destined to depart this evening is Air Transat TS949, bound for Toronto
FLL departure board
Source: Broward County
Less drama in Miami
Travelers have seen less drama at Miami International Airport (MIA), where officials told NBC6 that two short periods of lightning strikes caused minimal interruptions at the airport. At present, no flights have been majorly delayed or seen any cancellations.
Source: NBC Miami
