Airports and theme parks in Florida hit by Hurricane Milton are reopening now that the deadly storm has moved east of of the state and out into the Atlantic.
At least 16 people are dead after the hurricane swept across the state causing widespread damage and flooding. The UK Foreign Office says: “ There still remains a high risk from further flooding in the coming days and areas of Florida remain without power and mains water.
“The local authorities are warning people not to return to or visit areas affected by Hurricane Milton until they say that it is safe to do so.”
Tens of thousands of British holidaymakers in the state were confined to their accommodation as the storm moved through, striking the cities of Tampa and Orlando. Airports closed all day on Thursday, with all flights cancelled.
Arrivals at Orlando International Airport resumed at 8pm local time on Thursday (1am on Friday BST) with a Delta flight from Atlanta, followed by United flights from Denver, Houston and New York Newark. Two Delta flights to Atlanta departed from Orlando late on Thursday night. But the vast majority of flights remained cancelled until 7.30am local time on Friday.
The Orlando hub sustained some damage, with officials posting a photograph of a fallen palm tree blocking an access road.
Tampa International Airport has been closed since Wednesday but reopened at 9am local time (2pm BST) on Friday.
Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Norse are resuming most of their flights from the UK. Virgin Atlantic has a flight from London Heathrow to Orlando, while from London Gatwick BA has two departures and Norse Atlantic one service.
From Manchester, Virgin Atlantic has two Friday flights to Orlando while Aer Lingus has one.
British Airways has cancelled the Friday departure from Gatwick to Tampa and back.
Melbourne Orlando airport has also reopened, with Tui’s Thursday flight from Glasgow to to the secondary airport taking off 24 hours late. Outbound holidaymakers have lost a day of their trips and are due a partial refund.
Conversely about 300 Scots have had an extra day in Florida, though not an enjoyable one.
Most flights returning from Florida to the UK are expected to be completely full after dozens of flights between the Sunshine State and Britain were cancelled. Around 10,000 UK passengers have been forced to stay longer…
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