FAA Takes Steps to Avoid Summer Delays, Cancellations in Florida

Florida is glorious, we all know that.

But the state can have its weather drawbacks, and for air travel it’s much more than the old adage of “if the heat doesn’t get you the humidity will.”

No, Florida is prone to outbursts – sometimes daily in the spring and summer – of violent thunderstorms that can last from 30 minutes to an hour, maybe more, and turn bright sunshine into darkness coupled with intense rain and even hail.

We’ve already seen it so far this year and, as far as the airlines that have suffered through numerous delays and cancellations as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, they’ve seen enough.

The FAA this week said it is implementing a plan to avoid similar problems during the peak summer season in Florida, the biggest component of which is to increase the number of air traffic controllers at the state’s airports.

The goal is to increase the flow of planes in Florida. Since so many carriers operate in the state, and often use the airports to transfer crew members to other destinations, airlines say the destination often becomes a liability during bad weather when delays and cancellations are inevitable.

That’s especially important now since the airlines, after meeting with the FAA last week to help resolve the problem, told the agency they expect air travel in the summer of 2022 to equal or surpass pre-pandemic levels.

The FAA also promised to be more attentive in advising airlines of space launches from Cape Canaveral on Florida’s east coast – not far from airports in Orlando to its west, Daytona to its north and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Miami to the south. Airlines are sometimes not advised about space launches until days beforehand, giving them little time to adjust to routes being closed off to flights.