Tampa airport will close ahead of Idalia, and it could affect South Florida flights, too

There were few storm-related flight delays and cancellations at South Florida airports on Monday, but officials expected the number of affected flights to rise as Idalia moved closer toward the Gulf Coast this week, potentially as a Category 3 hurricane.

The Tampa International Airport will close at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday ahead of Idalia’s landfall in Florida, the airport posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

And what happens in Tampa, and anywhere else in the state, “will have an impact on us” at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, said Celina Saucedo, the airport’s Chief Administrative Officer in Fort Lauderdale. “It’s a domino effect.”

As of Monday afternoon, there were 12 delayed arrivals, 11 delayed departures and 1 cancellation, possibly because of the storm. Saucedo said these numbers are “very, very minimal” to Fort Lauderdale’s overall traffic. Still, “it’s a changing situation with the storm coming to Florida.”

At Miami International Airport, the numbers showed less inconvenience: Just two arrivals and two departures to and from Cuba were canceled early Monday because of Idalia, according to a spokesman. As of Monday, there were no flight cancellations at Palm Beach International Airport, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash