The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has announced that the Orlando International Airport will cease operations on Wednesday morning due to Hurricane Milton.
Acccording to officials, the Orlando International Airport (MCO) will stop all commercial flights at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9.
“Crews are increasing their activity with storm preparations as Hurricane Milton barrels toward Central Florida,” stated MCO in a press release.
As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8, Hurricane Milton is located approximately 545 miles southwest of Tampa. The storm is at Category 4 strength, with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, and the it is heading in an east-northeast direction at around 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
On the current forecast track, Milton is expected to move just north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday as it approaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday. Landfall is expected on Wednesday night.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from Milton’s center, with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 80 miles.
According to MCO, hurricane preparations throughout the facility, including sandbagging doors and tying down all boarding bridges, are nearly finalized.
In a statement, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) advised that MCO is not an authorized shelter. As a result, the airport is unable to accommodate local residents during a severe weather event such as a hurricane.
“We continue to ask passengers to check with their airlines about their flight plans,” added GOAA.
For more information, visit the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Airspace System Status webpage.