These are the latest airports to close for Hurricane Dorian
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For the latest update on Hurricane Dorian, check thepointsguy.com/hurricane.
After unleashing incredible damage in the Bahamas for days, Hurricane Dorian pulled away from the battered islands on Tuesday and began its run up the US Southeast coast. As the Category 2 hurricane sweeps north, it's expected to bring dangerous storm surge, heavy rains and damaging wind to the east coast of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Although forecasts originally showed the center of the hurricane staying offshore, the current forecast is for the hurricane to make landfall on the Carolina coast on Thursday or Friday.
There have already been thousands of flights that have been cancelled already, and as Hurricane Dorian pounds the Southeast coast, more cancellations are likely. According to reports, the following commercial passenger airports have ceased operation or have announced plans to close:
- Charleston (CHS): closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday with plans to reopen Friday
- Wilmington (ILM): closed at 9 p.m. Wednesday with plans to reopen Friday
- Daytona Beach (DAB): closed at 6 p.m. Monday, reopening hasn't been announced. American Airlines expects to resume services Friday morning.
- Hilton Head (HXD): closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday. American Airlines expects to resume services Friday morning.
The are a number of airports in the storm's path that haven't closed but are experiencing a number of cancellations:
- Jacksonville (JAX): all flights Wednesday afternoon were cancelled, but operations resumed Thursday
- Myrtle Beach (MYR) reports that a majority of flights have been cancelled Thursday, normal operations expected Friday
- Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV) reports that its operating with a limited schedule Thursday
- Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (EWN) reports a number of cancellations Thursday
For reference, here are the major airports that closed during the storm but have reopened:
- Orlando (MCO): closed at 2:00 a.m. Tuesday, reopened at noon Wednesday
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL): closed at noon Monday, reopened at noon Tuesday
- Palm Beach (PBI): closed at 12:00 a.m. Monday, reopened Wednesday morning
- Orlando Sanford (SFB): closed at 11:00 p.m. Monday, reopened at 1 p.m. Wednesday
- Orlando Melbourne (MLB): closed at noon Monday, reopening to commercial flights expected 8 a.m. Thursday
As of the 10:00 a.m. ET Thursday afternoon Federal Aviation Administration report, here are the airports that are closed, and when they expect to reopen:
| Airport | City | IATA Code | Time Closed | Scheduled Reopening |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington International Airport | Wilmington, North Carolina | ILM | Sep 4 9:00 PM | Sep 6 8:00 AM |
| Florence Regional Airport | Florence, South Carolina | FLO | Sep 5 2:00 AM | Sep 6 7:00 AM |
| Hilton Head Airport | Hilton Head, South Carolina | HXD | Sep 4 12:00 PM | Sep 7 12:00 PM |
| Merritt Field | Beaufort, South Carolina | NBC | Sep 3 4:00 PM | Sep 6 9:00 AM |
| Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport | Amelia Island, Florida | FHB | Sep 3 10:00 AM | Sep 6 12:00 PM |
Through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the airports hardest hit by cancellations (Sunday-Friday) are:
| Airport | Saturday- Monday | Tuesday (Sept. 3) | Wednesday (Sept. 4) | Thursday (Sept. 5) | Friday (Sept. 6) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando (MCO) | 503 | 734 | 422 | 6 | 2 | 1,667 |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 606 | 298 | 52 | 15 | 1 | 972 |
| Miami (MIA) | 151 | 136 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 336 |
| Charleston (CHS) | 5 | 42 | 85 | 143 | 16 | 291 |
| Jacksonville (JAX) | 20 | 49 | 163 | 25 | 257 | |
| Palm Beach International (PBI) | 100 | 100 | 13 | 213 | ||
| Savannah (SAV) | 2 | 8 | 58 | 89 | 8 | 165 |
| Mrytle Beach (MYR) | 9 | 4 | 18 | 70 | 3 | 104 |
| Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB) | 80 | 8 | 4 | 92 | ||
| Wilmington (ILM) | 9 | 48 | 12 | 69 | ||
| Daytona Beach (DAB) | 13 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 56 |
| Melbourne (MLB) | 8 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 44 |
| Hilton Head (HXD) | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 14 |
Protect Your Travels
Hurricane Dorian is another reminder to book flights with a card that offers solid trip delay and cancellation insurance. When I got stuck in Japan for four extra days due to a typhoon, I was very grateful for the Citi Prestige’s trip delay protection, which reimbursed $1,000 of our expenses.
Unfortunately Trip Delay Protection is being eliminated on the Citi Prestige -- and all other Citi cards -- for flights booked on or after Sept. 22, 2019. Starting then, I'll be using my Chase Sapphire Reserve to book my flights going forward. Other top choices are the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card -- which each offer protection starting with a 6-hour delay. In addition, there are six other cards where the protections kick in after a 12-hour delay.
The information for the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
