ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport is shutting down for at least 24 hours in anticipation of Hurricane Idalia making landfall as a hurricane along Florida's west coast.
PIE will close at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, with plans to reopen at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30. The airport is in a mandatory evacuation zone.
The airport shared an update on the status of some flights scheduled for Tuesday.
Flights operating as scheduled:
- Sun Country Airlines flight arriving at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday from Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
- Sun Country Airlines flight departing at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday to Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
- Allegiant Airlines flight arriving at 1:44 p.m. Tuesday from Flint, MI
- Allegiant Airlines flight departing at 2:34 p.m. Tuesday to Flint, MI
Flights that have been canceled:
- Allegiant Airlines flight to Nashville, TN on Tuesday
- Allegiant Airlines flights to/from Knoxville, TN on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight to Toledo, OH on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight to Cedar Rapids, IA on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight to Syracuse, NY on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight from Elmira, NY on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight from Huntington, WV on Wednesday
- Allegiant Airlines flight from South Bend, IN on Wednesday
For other specific flight information, travelers should check with their airlines.
Tampa International Airport is also stopping operations as Idalia approaches Florida. TPA will suspend commercial operations starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, and stop all air traffic, including cargo and private flights, by 7 a.m. Tuesday.
TPA plans to reopen on Thursday.
"TPA will closely coordinate the reopening of the Airport with its partners based on roadway safety, facility readiness and staffing. Any changes to the timing will be promptly communicated," the airport said in a release.
Florida leaders are urging people, especially those in the Tampa Bay area and along the Gulf Coast, to be ready to enact their hurricane plans by the end of the day Monday.
Because of the threat of dangerous storm surge, flooding and strong winds, everyone is advised to heed local emergency orders ahead of the storm. You can see the latest evacuation orders for the Tampa Bay area here.
As a reminder, leaders say if you're in an evacuation zone you only need to travel tens of miles out of the storm's path, not hundreds of miles. Now is the time to fortify your homes and businesses, pick up or tie down items that are outside and other preparations to protect against the storm.
10 Tampa Bay's Claire Farrow contributed to this report.
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