Hundreds of Labor Day flights canceled as Dorian bears down on US

Hundreds of U.S. flights were canceled over Labor Day weekend as Hurricane Dorian continues to approach the eastern seaboard.

As many as 600 flights scheduled for Monday have been canceled, USA Today reported, citing flight tracker FlightAware.

{mosads}The majority of the cancellations stem from Florida airports, including 227 flight cancellations to and from Orlando’s main airport and 62 flights from Orlando Sanford International Airport.

Fort Lauderdale International Airport canceled upwards of 160 flights to and from the city. West Palm Beach canceled nearly 100 trips, according to flight tracker.

Southwest and Spirit airlines have reportedly canceled the most flights with approximately 130 each.

Airlines rushed to cancel flights before the hurricane’s path shifted away from Puerto Rico and Florida. The storm is now bearing down on portions of the Eastern seaboard including Georgia and the Carolinas.

Orlando International Airport, which flies hundreds of travelers to and from Disney World and other attractions, will not close on Labor Day as originally planned after the storm shift.

“Original storm forecasts reported the hurricane could have greatly impacted Orlando International and the entire Central Florida region,” the airport said in a statement to USA Today on Saturday.  “The latest updates show that Hurricane Dorian has changed its path and has proven to be an unpredictable storm.”

Prior to Dorian’s formation in the Atlantic, the 2019 Labor Day weekend was expected to be a record-breaking weekend for U.S. travel.

Airlines for America predicted that 17.5 million passengers were expected to fly over the holiday. 

Many airlines, however, are allowing travelers to change their flights without penalties, USA Today noted. 

Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Sunday, pummeling the Bahamas before making its way north.

The National Hurricane Center warned Sunday evening that strong winds are expected to affect the Carolinas and Georgia early this week.