South Florida Airports Re-Open With Limited Operations
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- For the first time in three days, commercial flights were taking off from Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Late Saturday, both Miami International Airport and FLL had cancelled all flights ahead of Irma.
Antii Koskella and his wife were left stranded, visiting form New York on a two-week vacation. They had no idea a hurricane was coming until they got here.
"We were terrified," he said. "What is gonna happen? Am I gonna be able to see my family again?"
The couples' hotel was in an evacuation zone and had to spend six days in a shelter. The airport was open Tuesday but their flight was still cancelled.
— Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport (FLL) (@FLLFlyer) September 12, 2017
American Airlines was the first departure at MIA just after 9 a.m. Tuesday. The airport had resumed only partial operations.
Today, we expect to operate at 30% and will see operations increase daily as flights resume, possibly by the weekend.
— Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) September 12, 2017
Airport officials said they hoped to be up to full operation by this weekend. Both Miami International and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International suffered wind and water damage because of Irma.
Passengers should contact their airline to confirm their flight's status before coming to the airport.