Hurricane Helene 2024: Major US airports close as catastrophic storm hurtles towards Florida that could bring 'unprecedented damage'

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane warnings for part of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Florida's northwestern coastline, where large storm surges of up to 15 feet are expected. Two Florida airports - Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport - announced upcoming closures ahead of the storm's arrival.

The airport said: “Tampa International Airport will suspend all commercial and cargo operations beginning at 2 a.m Thursday ahead of Hurricane Helene, with the Airport remaining closed to the public until it can assess any damage after the storm”. The three other public airports managed by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority - Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive and Plant City Airports - will also close at 2am Thursday.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport will close after the last flight arrives on Wednesday because it is in a mandatory evacuation zone and plans to reopen on Friday. Major airlines including American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United and Frontier have issued travel alerts for passengers flying to and from Florida and Georgia, reported ABC News.

The Department of Transportation does not require airlines to offer a full refund to customers if a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed due weather. Florida officials are warning residents to brace for life-threatening rain, floods and storm surge.

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians to expect widespread power outages, heavy rainfall and high winds. More than 30 counties in southern Georgia were under a hurricane warning from the National Weather Service, including some rural areas roughly 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line.