Hurricane Isaias Closes Gulf Coast Airports and Clears Alabama's Beaches as Airlines Waive Change Fees

By Thursday lunchtime the Alabama and Florida Panhandle coast had begun to empty. Hurricane Isaias, the first of the Atlantic season, was about 380 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, and the National Hurricane Center's 10 a.m. Central advisory said preparations in the warning area "should be rushed to completion today." The advisory puts landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, with more strengthening expected through early Friday.

A hurricane warning covers the coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf county line in Florida. A storm surge warning runs from the mouth of the Mississippi to the Suwannee River, with water of 5 to 7 feet above ground possible from Ocean Springs to Indian Pass and in Mobile Bay.

Which airports are closing for Isaias?

Two in the Panhandle have set dates. The Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, at Eglin Air Force Base, will end all operations at 9 p.m. Central on Thursday "until further notice," and FlightAware showed 18 cancellations there by about 8 a.m. Eastern, according to a Yahoo travel report. Pensacola International will close its terminal to commercial flights from 10 a.m. Friday, and WKRG reported there is no reopening date, because that will be decided after damage assessments.

Tampa and Sarasota are monitoring the storm and urge travellers to check with their airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration warned in its daily traffic report that Isaias may lead to oceanic route closures in the Gulf, and flagged thunderstorm delays for Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

What are the airlines offering?

According to TheTravel's summary of the carriers' alerts, Delta, United, American and Southwest have all issued waivers, and the terms differ.

• Delta covers nine airports, including Pensacola, Panama City, Mobile, Gulfport/Biloxi and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, for flights on 9 and 10 October, with the fare difference waived if the new travel is on or before 13 October.
• United covers five airports, including New Orleans and Mobile, for flights on 9 and 10 October. Replacement flights must be United flights departing between 7 and 13 October, in the same cabin and between the same cities, and the original ticket must have been bought on or before 6 October.
• American covers seven airports, including Tampa and New Orleans, with changes to be made by 10 October and no change of destination or cabin.
• Southwest covers four airports, Destin-Fort Walton Beach, New Orleans, Panama City Beach and Pensacola, from 8 October, letting customers rebook or fly standby within 14 days of the original date.