Anticipating the worst from Ike, a Category 4 hurricane forecast to arrive near the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas this weekend, the Turks and Caicos' Office of Disaster Management urged visitors to leave the islands by Friday, when the airport on Providenciales will close after the last flight departs at 5:20 p.m.
Five scheduled American Airlines' flights and one US Airways flight departed Thursday for Miami and Charlotte, N.C., respectively.
American confirmed it will operate its five scheduled flights on Friday, with the last flight leaving Providenciales at 5:20 p.m. Intra-island carriers Sky King and Air Turks and Caicos are adding extra flights on Friday to ferry passengers to the airport.
Butch Stewart, chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, chartered an MD-82 aircraft for his 131 guests still remaining at Beaches Turks and Caicos. After the last guest leaves, the resort is closing until Sept. 26 due to debris on the property from Tropical Storm Hanna. The flight will depart Providenciales for Miami at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Hanna is expected to make landfall near the North Carolina-South Carolina border on Friday night or early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Both states and Georgia have activated their emergency centers. Workers began boarding up windows in Charleston, SC on Thursday.