The latest bulletin from the US National Hurricane Center for Wednesday 9 October makes grim reading.
“Milton remains a catastrophic category 5 hurricane,” the organisation announced at 5am local time (10am UK time). “Forecast to make landfall on the Florida Gulf coast late tonight as a dangerous major hurricane.”
Hurricane Milton is forecast to bring potentially catastrophic storm surges, high winds and heavy rain to Florida’s Gulf Coast, including the densely populated tourist destinations of Tampa Bay.
The Foreign Office says: “Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida on the night of 9 October or morning of 10 October with tropical force winds affecting the west coast from the morning of 9 October.
“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and high winds on the west coast and heavy rainfall and high winds are expected to impact large parts of Florida.”
Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a State of Emergency for 35 counties in Florida. Walt Disney World will start closing its theme parks at 1pm local time on Wednesday.
The UK sends more visitors to the “Sunshine State” than any other nation – an average of over 3,100 per day last year, and probably more in 2024.
What are your options if you are one of the many British tourists in Florida, or booked to travel imminently? These are the key questions and answers.
What is happening to flights to and from Florida?
Orlando International
Florida’s main holiday airport, Orlando International (MCO), “will cease commercial passenger operations at 8am [1pm UK time] Wednesday 9 October”.
All UK flights expected to arrive and depart on 9 October have been cancelled – except for Virgin’s Edinburgh-Orlando flight, which is postponed by 24 hours to 10 October.
In addition, Virgin Atlantic has told The Independent that flight VS91 from Heathrow to Orlando on Thursday 10 October, as well as the inbound VS92, will be grounded.
A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said: “Services to and from Orlando and Tampa are subject to cancellations and delays. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience as we work through the impact of Hurricane Milton.”
MCO says in a statement: “The airport, in collaboration with federal and airline partners, agreed to cease commercial operations to prevent…
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