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Airlines halt Florida cargo operations as Milton approaches

Shipments in transit will be delayed

Eric Kulisch
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Orlando International Airport will shutter operations, leaving cargo shipments in limbo until the danger from Hurricane Milton passes and officials can assess any damage. (Photo: Greater Orlando Aviation Authority)

Airlines are informing shippers not to send cargo to airports in the expected path of Hurricane Milton as the airline industry implements contingency plans to move people and equipment in Florida out of harm’s way.

Tampa International Airport suspended all operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday, and Orlando International Airport said it will halt all activity at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Orlando airport will remain open for emergency aid and relief flights. Neither airport handles significant air cargo volumes. Orlando is the 30th-largest U.S. airport for air cargo by landed weight, according to Federal Aviation Administration data.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of central Florida on Wednesday and be extremely destructive.

Delta Air Lines’ cargo division issued a notice that it will no longer accept shipments or deliver shipments to Orlando airport, effective at noon on Tuesday through Friday. Similar restrictions are in place for Tampa Bay, Sarasota and Fort Myers.


United Cargo closed freight facilities in Tampa and Orlando on Tuesday through Thursday due to expected hurricane conditions. Any cargo currently in transit and destined for either airport during the closure period will be retained at the previous station, unless a reroute has been requested by the customer, it informed customers on its website. The airline anticipates resuming cargo service at both locations on Friday, if it is deemed safe.

American Airlines also implemented an embargo on all shipments moving from, to or through Orlando and Tampa airports that lasts until Friday. Restrictions for Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers and Sarasota are scheduled to last through Thursday.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Florida ports suspend operations ahead of powerful Hurricane Milton


Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com