BOSTON – Hurricane Milton had people at Logan Airport scrambling for last-minute flights in and out of Florida, with some coming to New England to escape before the powerful storm makes landfall and others desperate to get home.
Hurricane Milton travel impact
Mass evacuations are underway in Florida as Milton, a massive Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, is predicted to make landfall in the middle of the week.
At Logan Airport, Jesse Ayres was headed home to Orlando after coming to Boston for a charity golf tournament.
“I’ve got a wife and three kids, so got to get home,” he said.
Ayres decided to leave Boston early to prepare the family’s home for Milton’s wrath.
“This is like me getting the last flight back out, so definitely thankful to the airlines,” he said.
Florida airports closing
Other Florida-bound travelers at Logan Airport were not as lucky. Nearly every flight to Tampa has been canceled, along with several to Fort Myers, Orlando, and Sarasota.
It will soon be impossible to get any flights to the area. Tampa International Airport suspended all operations at 9 a.m., followed by Sarasota-Bradenton at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Airports in Fort Myers and Orlando will close on Wednesday.
“People are really nervous because we haven’t had a direct hit like this in a really long time,” Mia Thielbar from Tampa said.
Some passengers from Tampa like Thielbar made it out if Florida just in time and will be riding out the storm in Boston.
Meanwhile, Shiela Chase is heading to Jacksonville to hunker down. She’s worried about her loved ones in Milton’s path.
“I have friends that live up towards Clearwater and they were flooded out with four feet of water in their house and it’s now demolished and now they’re living in a hotel awaiting this next storm,” Chase said. “So it’s going to be devastating for a lot of people.”
Relief from Massachusetts
That’s why FEMA Region 1, based out of Cambridge, plans to deploy additional crews to the southeast throughout the week.
Thirty Region 1 personnel are already there, still providing logistical resources following Hurricane Helene.
“So we’ll bring people and equipment in to help the state in their efforts, bring in food and water, and we set up distribution points that help people to access those resources,” Lauren McLane, external affairs director for FEMA Region 1, said.
For anyone else with plans to head to Florida this week, most airlines are offering free flight change vouchers, although it’s unclear when the airports will reopen.
