Hurricane Matthew disrupts flights at PHL, other airports

SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Hurricane Matthew has disrupted air travel to and from the southeastern United States.

As of noon Friday, more than 4,500 flights had been canceled nationwide, including many at Philadelphia International Airport.

Action News spoke with passengers checking in at PHL, and there was uncertainty for some.

"I'm flying back home from West Virginia via Charlotte, but it seems like only coastal," said Todd Goldberg. "I'm hoping Charlotte, which is inland, won't be affected."

There were certainly cancellations on the flight boards around the airport. And you could run into trouble, especially if your flight was to Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina.

But many others were unaffected.

"Coming to the airport when there are delays in other places is the luck of the draw," said Nofre Vaquer from Flourtown, Pennsylvania. "But so far everything is going well."

All flights at the Orlando and Jacksonville airports were canceled Friday. But elsewhere the news was improving.

Miami Airport reported limited flights north starting at about 1 p.m. Fort Lauderdale reported first flights were due out an hour later.

Tampa had some Matthew-related delays and cancellations, but was still operating.

For actual travelers, getting out of the state could be a two-step process.

Action News spoke to a woman who drove Thursday night from Orlando to Tampa, and then slept at the Tampa airport in order to get on a flight to Philadelphia.

"We were scheduled to leave today from Orlando, but, of course, the flight was canceled. But they were able to reschedule us, but we had to drive to Tampa," said Yvonne Kuzma from Orlando, Florida.

Monica Lopez, who was staying in Tampa sensed a lot of people wanted to get on a 2 p.m. flight Friday.

"It was a full flight, and it seemed like everyone was there by time I got there. A lot of people wanted to get there early to make sure they had secured their seat on the flight," said Lopez of Devon, Pennsylvania.

While Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports are operating, other coastal airports from Jacksonville to Charleston, South Carolina, are shut down.

Orlando officially remained closed to commercial traffic Friday. The expectation is there will be limited service Saturday.