Travellers to Florida told to check flights ahead of Hurricane Milton

Travellers to Florida were urged to check the status of their flights before going to Pearson International Airport on Wednesday before Hurricane Milton made landfall.

Erica Vella, spokesperson for Toronto Pearson,said in an interview that there are no operational impacts to the airport itself, but several airlines cancelledflights to Florida ahead of the hurricane.

Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, Fla., according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

"We'reseeing a lot of airports in Florida also shuttingdown operations," Vella said earlier on Wednesday. "Right now, our message to passengers is that they should be checking the status of their flight before they come to the airport."

On Wednesday afternoon,the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a video on X, formerly Twitter, that airports are closed in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Orlando, Daytona Beach and Fort Myers. The FAA said it expects airports in Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miami to remain open despite the impacts of the storm.

Air Canada said onX thatit has cancelled its flights to Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa Wednesday through to Friday. The airline added that it is offering a flexible rebooking policy and plans to add more than 1,100 seats after the hurricane passes to provide more travel options.

Porter Airlines said on X it has cancelled all Florida flights on Wednesday and all Orlando flights on Thursday. "Passengers will automatically be rebooked on flights later in the week," the airline said.

Milton, which was described as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm, was moving inland along Florida's west coast on Wednesday night, with"life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding"continuing,the centre said.

"Milton is expected to remain a hurricane while it moves across central Florida through Thursday," the centre added.

The storm is forecast to weaken over the western Atlantic by Thursday night.

In a report by the Associated Press, the U.S. National Weather Service said seven tornadoes have hit Florida in advance of Milton.