Airports have announced closures ahead of the expected landfall on Wednesday of Hurricane Milton on Florida's west coast.
Milton, now a Category 4 hurricane, was located just north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday morning and headed on a path that is projected to take it near the Tampa area.
Operations at Tampa Airport halted at 9 a.m. local time Tuesday.
Sarasota Airport has now announced plans to close at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Orlando Airport, approximately 90 miles east of Tampa, will close at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Further south, Southwest Florida International Airport, which serves Fort Myers, will halt all operations on Wednesday and Thursday.
The small St. Pete-Clearwater Airport, which primarily is served by Allegiant Air, had previously announced closure plans for Wednesday and Thursday.
Airlines that fly into a variety of Florida airports, including ones that will close, have issued travel waivers, providing flexibility for flyers whose plans have changed or whose flights have been canceled.
Some airlines also added extra lift for evacuees. American said it added more than 2,000 seats and a dozen flights late Monday and early Tuesday on flights out of Tampa and Sarasota. United added seven flights from Tampa and Orlando and substituted larger aircraft on four other flights.