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    • Which airports are open for business? When will SRQ reopen?
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    Which airports are open for business? When will SRQ reopen?

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Florida airports were closed ahead of Hurricane Milton's Oct. 9 landfall on Siesta Key and will begin reopening to travelers this weekend.

    Across the state, several airports were closed ahead of the Category 3 hurricane to ensure the safety of travelers and employees. But as of Friday, all but one of Central and Southwest Florida's airports were operational following the storm.

    Here's an overview of the location of Florida airports as of Friday, October 11th.

    Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) | 6000 Airport Circle Sarasota, FL

    Sarasota Bradenton International Airport will remain closed until its scheduled reopening date of October 16th.

    More: Sarasota Bradenton Airport hopes to resume flight operations soon after roof damage from Hurricane Milton

    Rick Piccolo, president and CEO of SRQ, had originally planned to reopen the fast-growing airport by Saturday. But after assessing the roof and water damage, Piccolo told the Herald on Friday that things weren't looking “favorable” to his original hope of opening on Oct. 12. The airport later issued a statement saying a temporary roof needed to be installed over a concourse, pushing the target date back to Wednesday.

    Follow Sarasota Bradenton Airport social media or visit FLYSRQ.COM for updates.

    Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) | 11000 Terminal Access Road, Fort Myers, Florida

    Southwest Florida Airport (RSW) reopened to travelers on Friday, October 11th. The airport spokeswoman said in an email that the airport fared much better during Hurricane Milton than it did two years ago when Hurricane Ian made landfall nearby.

    “Southwest Florida International Airport reopened at 4:00 a.m. this morning and airlines began departing aircraft at 9:00 a.m. Parking lots, rental car agencies, concessions and airport roads are all open,” said spokeswoman Vicki Moreland.

    Visit the RSW website https://flyrsw.com/ for updates and details on the airline's status.

    St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) | 14700 Terminal Blvd. Clearwater, FL

    St. Pete-Clearwater Airport remained closed Friday. The airport itself is in a mandatory evacuation zone.

    The airport's website posted the latest update on Hurricane Milton, saying all flights have been canceled for Friday, October 11. The airport had not announced a reopening date after Friday's storm.

    Officials urged customers to contact airlines directly for flight status information.

    Travelers can stay updated on St. Pete Clearwater updates online at https://fly2pie.com/.

    Tampa International Airport (TPA) | 4100 George J. Bean Parkway Tampa, FL

    Tampa's 3,300-acre airport reopened at 8 a.m. Friday after being closed for four days as Hurricane Milton crossed the Florida peninsula.

    Emily Nipps, TPA spokeswoman, said the airport was hit hard by the strong storm.

    “We have suffered more damage than we have suffered in recent times,” she said. “We are currently under construction so we have lost some scaffolding and suffered some damage to equipment. We may not know the extent of the damage until later this weekend, but I can tell you we took a beating.”

    Despite the damage, Nipps said TPA was operational Friday and was able to assess the damage as early as Thursday morning with the help of 100 TPA storm drivers – employees who stayed at the airport during the storm to help with recovery.

    “They started work this morning because we have electricity. “We've been able to keep up with our 10,000 employees spread across the state and county…we made sure we had enough staff throughout the airport – Starbucks, janitors, servers and checkpoint officers – so we were able to reopen today,” Nipps said Friday morning.

    TPA had planned for 50,000 passengers to pass through the airport on October 11th.

    Check flight status and stay up to date with FlyTPA news about Tampa International.

    Orlando International Airport (MCO) | A Jeff Fuqua Boulevard Orlando, Florida

    Orlando resumed full commercial passenger service on Friday.

    “Our crews did an outstanding job assessing the damage as quickly as possible, then clearing the streets and preparing equipment to receive passengers,” Kevin J. Thibault, chief executive officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said in a statement Press release.

    “Coordination with our partners, from airlines to TSA, was also critical to the return of passengers. While there may be some delays during the recovery, we expect normal operations to be imminent.”

    Airline Operations estimates that nearly 75,000 passengers will be processed on Friday.

    Stay updated on airport operations and damage assessments on the MCO website at https://orlandoairports.net/.

    This story has been updated to add video.

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    Kathleen William
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