U.S. Airlines Making Preparations Ahead of Historic Hurricane Matthew

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With Hurricane Matthew expected to make landfall along the Southeastern
coast of Florida today, U.S. airlines are quickly moving to accommodate
the thousands of customers whose travel plans may be impacted by the
storm’s path.

“Safety is always airlines’ first priority, and to protect both
passengers and employees, airlines began moving crew and aircraft out of
the way of the storm and pre-emptively canceling flights on Wednesday,”
said Billy Nolen, A4A Senior Vice President, Safety, Security and
Operations. “Doing so helps ensure that neither passengers nor crew are
stranded and enables airlines to recover and accommodate customers as
soon as possible when it is safe to do so.”

Airlines have announced flexible rebooking options for travelers whose
flights originate or depart out of Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami
and Orlando in Fla., Savannah, Ga. and Charleston, S.C. and even into
parts of coastal North Carolina.

A4A’s newly launched interactive
data dashboard provides access to aggregated flight operations and
information for U.S. airlines and airports across the country, including
flight cancellations and delays. The dashboard provides the current
operation status for the top 30 U.S. airports by passenger volume.

Additionally, airport closings and travel advisories for the following
have been issued:

• FLL will close at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 6 through Oct. 7, 10:30 a.m.
  (estimate)
• MIA has no immediate closure plans; operations will be restricted once
  crosswind thresholds have been exceeded
• PBI has no defined closure time but will not have ATC services
  available once the winds reach 56 mph sustained
• There are reports MCO will close at 8:00 p.m. Oct. 6. A4A is working
  to confirm this.
• JAX and north are mostly normal ops through today. A4A expects
  carriers and airports to take action later this afternoon for tomorrow.

Visit Airlines.org
for more details on current
waiver information and travel advisories.

ABOUT A4A

Annually, commercial aviation helps drive nearly $1.5 trillion in U.S.
economic activity and more than 11 million U.S. jobs. Airlines for
America (A4A) vigorously advocates on behalf of the American airline
industry as a model of safety, customer service and environmental
responsibility and as the indispensable network that drives our nation’s
economy and global competitiveness.

America needs a cohesive National Airline Policy that will support the
integral role the nation’s airlines play in connecting people and goods
globally, spur the nation’s economic growth and create more high-paying
jobs. A4A works collaboratively with the airlines, labor groups,
Congress and the Administration to improve air travel for everyone.

For more information about the airline industry, visit our website airlines.org and
our blog, A Better Flight Plan, at airlines.org/blog.
Follow
us on Twitter: @airlinesdotorg.
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us on Facebook: facebook.com/AirlinesforAmerica.
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us on Instagram: instagram.com/AirlinesforAmerica.

To learn how you can support a National Airline Policy, a better flight
plan for everyone, visit www.nationalairlinepolicy.com.

Contacts

Airlines for America (A4A)
Kathy Grannis Allen
Managing
Director, Airline Industry Public Relations and Communications
202-626-4034
kallen@airlines.org
or
Vaughn
Jennings
Managing Director, Government and Regulatory Communications
202-626-4209
vjennings@airlines.org
or
Jean
Medina
Senior Vice President, Communications
jmedina@airlines.org