Reopening of Southwest Florida International Delayed

The destruction of Hurricane Ian has so devastated Gulf Coast of Florida that officials say Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers – the hardest-hit area from the Category 4 storm earlier this week – might not reopen until Friday, October 7, according to Fox 4 News.

The airport has been closed since Tuesday evening, September 27. The hurricane hit the area the next day.

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Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction and disrupted travel after making landfall. Several Florida airports closed, airlines canceled thousands of flights, theme parks closed, and cruise lines diverted itineraries.

RSW Airport is not as big as Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Orlando, but it nonetheless services major carriers such as American Airlines, Delta, United, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant, and international airlines British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air Canada The airport said on social media that is set a tentative date of October 7 to reopen and added that it placed a “Notice to Air Officials” filing with the Federal Aviation Administration.

As of today, Sunday, October 2, the airport still does not have electricity or running water. Nearly 180,000 people in Lee County, which has 280,000 residents, is without power. Fox 4 noted that only emergency and humanitarian operations are taking place at the airport.