Florida airports experienced delays, cancelations on Friday due to weather, staff shortages

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UPDATE 10/10/2021: Action News Jax’s Ben Becker obtained a letter from Jacksonville Aviation Authority COO Tony Cugno to the Board of Directors that refutes the rumor of an organized walkout by controllers regarding the vaccination mandate.

Read the letter below:

UPDATE 10/9/2021: Different airports in Florida experienced flight delays and cancellations on Friday due to bad weather and, in some cases, staff shortages.

According to the Federal Aviation Center, a Jacksonville facility needed additional staff for managing air traffic and did not resume normal operations until 10 p.m. on Friday.

The FAA released the following statement on Saturday regarding flight delays and cancelations.

“Due to a combination of severe weather, active military training in the airspace, and unexpected limited staff at the Jacksonville facility that handles high-altitude, en route traffic, the FAA took steps to safely manage air traffic the evening of Oct. 8. Normal operations returned at approximately 10 p.m.”

Other airports like Tampa International Airport had delays and cancelations due to bad weather.

TPA released a travel advisory that read:

“TPA is continuing to experience flight delays at this time as a result of an FAA-imposed air traffic management program in response to bad weather to the north. This issue is impacting all Florida airports. As always, please check with your airline for flight updates.”

Action News Jax reached out to Jacksonville International Airport and learned that several flights were canceled due to bad weather as well.

Action News Jax Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh says the weather was clear in the area long before the delays were reported.

As for the staff shortages, Action News Jax has also reached out to FAA for more information and is awaiting a response.

This is a developing story that will be updated once more information becomes available.

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