Hurricane Ian disrupts business and travel in Florida

Hurricane Ian is disrupting business and travel in Florida. shelled toward the state’s west coast on Tuesdayhalted flights and forced Tampa and Orlando to close their international airports.

Officials at Tampa International Airport said it would suspend all operations from 5 p.m. Tuesday to secure jet bridges, planes and other equipment and prepare the airfield and terminals for the storm. Orlando International Airport will cease operations at 10:30 am on Wednesdays.

“This is a very dangerous system,” Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano said at a press conference.

Lopano said airlines have already canceled local flights and moved aircraft to safer locations. By noon, a total of 146 flights to and from Tampa airport had been canceled, according to real-time flight-tracking website FlightAware. Seven more flights were delayed.

“To my knowledge, there has never been a storm of this magnitude before,” John Tiriakos, executive vice president of airport operations, told a news conference.

Tampa International Airport serves about 450 flights a day, and it’s unclear how soon it will be able to reopen. Located near Tampa Bay, Hurricane Ian expects 10-15 feet of storm surge and 15-20 inches of rain and storm surge.

Lopano said he expects the economic damage from the several-day shutdown to reach “millions.”

“And unfortunately Ian hasn’t given us a choice, so we’re going to make it as painless as possible,” he added.

Ian Threatens Disney

Walt Disney World in Orlando announced Tuesday night that its theme parks, including Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. We have closed Treehouse Villas in Springs, bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and suspended some hotel operations. in anticipation of ian It can wreak havoc.

“Walt Disney World Resort is preparing for necessary operational adjustments based on the latest information from the National Weather Service,” the company said in a statement on its website.

lost oil production

Hurricane Ian has also disrupted the energy sector, with oil producers BP and Chevron halting production at offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Monday, BP said it had evacuated personnel from its Na Kika platform, which produces 130,000 barrels of oil per day and 550 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. It is also reducing production at its Thunder Horse platform, which produces 250,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Chevron also said it was removing personnel from its Petronius and Blind Faith platforms and temporarily halting operations at its facilities. Together, they produce about 120,000 barrels of oil per day.