TAMPA, Fla. — Travelers to and from Tampa International Airport should anticipate the possibility of delays and cancellations as many destinations across the United States experience extremely low temperatures, strong winds and snow.
As of Monday morning, TPA had 53 cancellations and 26 delays, according to Flight Aware. Travelers can track their flights on TPA's flight status page.
At least 10 cancellations were counted at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport and two cancellations at St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport.
TPA is expecting more than 75,000 passengers to travel Thursday and Friday. The airport is also expecting New Year's Eve and Jan. 2 to be among their busiest days for travel.
On average, there are 55,000 to 60,000 passengers traveling, TPA said. However, winter storms and the cold snap caused flight delays throughout much of the country.
"We got lucky," Mark Rotman of Toronto said. "The thought of it being cancelled was a scary one.”
Rotman said he and his family have been planning a cruise for three years. Delays from COVID-19 forced the family to wait longer and strong wintry conditions up north caused more concern.
"I’ve been looking forward to this for such a long time, so I’m just happy to be here," Gavin Katz, son of Rotman, said.
Other travelers expressed worries about delays, especially those traveling to and from the north including Jorma Young, who was headed to Boston.
"We were just watching it kind of minute by minute to see if everything would go through," Young said of his departure schedule.
TPA is encouraging travelers to take advantage of its Blue Express Curbside lanes for those without a checked bag. In addition, arrive two hours before departure and three hours for international flights.
Freeze warnings across the Tampa Bay area have been issued in preparation for the freezing temperatures. The watches will be from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday.
A freeze warning has been issued for the following Tampa Bay area counties:
Polk, Hardee, Highlands, coastal Pasco, coastal and inland Hillsborough and inland Manatee counties. Sub-freezing temperatures will be as low as 31 degrees.
A hard freeze warning has been issued in the following Tampa Bay area counties:
Coastal and inland Citrus, coastal and inland Hernando, and inland Pasco counties. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 25 degrees will be possible.
Orlando and Tampa are not expected to break 50 degrees on Christmas Eve and even Miami isn’t expected to get out of the 50s.
In northern Florida cities such as Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Pensacola have predicted lows in the 20s on Christmas Eve, with highs of about 40.
Forecasters say the watches may be upgraded to warnings as the weekend approaches and that more watches/warnings are possible for Sunday as well.
10 Tampa Bay's holiday travel trips:
- Track your flights closely
- Keep luggage essentials with you
- Consider travel health insurance
- Contact the airline or travel insurance company if there is a cancellation or delay