Storms disrupt flights out of Fort Lauderdale over the holiday weekend

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Yellow and red alerts covered the flight boards at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on Friday.

Len Gengel said he boarded a JetBlue plane twice during failed attempts to fly out of Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on Friday.

Gengel said he waited on the tarmac for about an hour during the first failed attempt and for about three hours during the second. He decided to just book a new flight.

“The pilot came on and said the flight attendants have worked too late and now we got to turn back in so we go back in we sit down and go back on the plane get reput back on the same plane,” Gengel said.

JetBlue B6 1709 was supposed to depart for Port-au-Prince at 10:14 a.m. It didn’t do so until about 7:30 p.m. With the severe weather Friday, officials expected 28 cancelations and 220 delays.

There was a similar sight Saturday morning with close to two dozen flights canceled and more than 50 flights delayed, due to a combination of factors according to airport officials.

They cite bad weather in parts of the nation, airspace traffic management initiatives as well as airline operational issues.

All these factors combined lead to some flights being delayed more than 8 hours.

According to flight aware, which tracks delayed and canceled flights, more than three dozen flights canceled and with more than 130 delays at MIA.

Afternoon report


About the Authors:

Roy Ramos joined the Local 10 News team in 2018. Roy is a South Florida native who grew up in Florida City. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, Homestead Senior High School and graduated from St. Thomas University.

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.