The Impact Of Hurricane Helene On Flights Over The Weekend

Over the weekend, Hurricane Helene had hit the southern coast of the United States
, leaving a trail of devastation across several states, including Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The weather system has resulted in “historic, catastrophic, life-threatening” flash floods, including landslides, which had continued following the storm south of the Appalachian mountains, according to a National Hurricane Center (NHC) message on September 27.

In an earlier message on September 27, the NHC warned about damaging wind gusts that had continued over portions of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, particularly south of the Appalachians.

Canceling thousands of flights

Nevertheless, over the weekend, namely between September 27 and September 30, airlines canceled 1,753 departures and 1,740 arrivals in the US, according to data Flightradar24 provided to Simple Flying.

Photo: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock

That represented 1.66% and 1.65% of the total departures and arrivals, respectively. This was how the cancelations spread over the three-day period across the whole US system, which included flights that originated and did not land within areas affected by the storm:

Most affected airports

In terms of the most affected airports in the country during that period, the locations in vicinity of Hurricane Helene saw the largest number of canceled flights.

For example, 146 departures were canceled out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
(ATL), while airlines axed another 136 flights from Asheville Regional Airport (AVL).

Photo: ungvar | Shutterstock

Carriers decided against operating another 114 flights from Tampa International Airport (TPA), as well as another 35 from Miami International Airport (MIA) and 20 from Orlando International Airport
(MCO), which are some of the largest gateways in Florida.

However, Hurricane Helene resulted in the largest number of flights being canceled at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), with 230 flights staying put during the period.

Related

Hurricane Helene: Have You Been Affected By Flight Cancellations?

Hurricane Helene made landfall over Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 storm late Thursday night with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. While the storm has rapidly weakened, to Category 1, with 90 mph winds, as of early Friday morning, it will still disrupt air travel as it moves north-northeast.

The National Hurricane Center warned, “Tropical storm conditions are occurring from southern Florida to southeastern Georgia, and these conditions will continue spreading northward across the tropical storm warning areas in the Southeastern U.S. through today. Strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, will likely penetrate as far inland as the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.”

According to FlightAware, airlines canceled nearly 1,300 flights Thursday in anticipation of the storm’s landing. Airports including Tampa International, Orlando International, and Fort Lauderdale International, warned travelers of potential delays and cancelations. American Airlines, JetBlu

Situation normalizing

Preliminary data showed that by October 1, the situation in terms of flight cancelations should normalize. According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, there are 22,544 scheduled flights on the day originating in the US.

Photo: Charlotte Douglas International Airport

In terms of airports that were the most affected by Hurricane Helene, here was how their schedules on the first day of October compared to a year prior:

The three airports follow a general trend in flights originating in the US. On October 1, 2023, there were 24,484 scheduled departures, while on the same day a year later, airlines have scheduled 22,544 flights, a decrease of 7.9% YoY.