US airlines embargo select FL cargo operations ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa

With Tropical Storm Elsa expected to become a hurricane before making landfall over Florida’s northern Gulf Coast, U.S. combination carriers have issued embargos on cargo transport beginning this afternoon and continuing through at least the morning of July 7. [caption id="attachment_96192" align="alignright" width="450"] Tropical Storm Elsa's forecast route. Photo courtesy of Tampa Airport.[/caption] Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are among the combination carriers that have canceled hundreds of flights combined at one or more Florida airports, according to flight tracking software. Tampa Airport (TPA) has been the most severely impacted airport so far. Elsa’s forecasted high winds of up to 65 to 70 miles per hour led the airport to suspend commercial operations at 5 p.m. ET today and cargo operations by 10 p.m. ET, according to an airport announcement. The airport currently expects to resume operations on July 7 at 10 a.m. ET. Current cargo suspensions are as follows: Alaska Airlines today banned pets in the cargo department on flights to TPA due to Tropical Storm Elsa, according to a travel advisory. The airline plans to resume operations there tomorrow, according to a spokesperson, and expects little impact on cargo. American Airlines has embargoed all cargo products, including its Priority Parcel service and mail, for shipments to and from Fort Myers (RSW) immediately until July 7 at 5 a.m. ET, and TPA from today at 4 p.m. ET through 12 p.m. on July 7, according to a spokesperson. Delta Cargo embargoed outbound shipments from RSW effective today at noon ET until midnight, although DASH shipments will still be available for pickup at Delta’s baggage service office at the airport, according to an operational bulletin. Inbound and outbound shipments are embargoed at TPA from 5 p.m. ET today through July 7 at 10 a.m. ET, and both warehouses are closed to customers during the embargo. Southwest cancelled around 130 flights today and about 70 for Wednesday, with most cancellations affecting operations at RSW, Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), TPA and Orlando (MCO), according to a service bulletin. United Cargo is closing its stations at RSW and TPA, the former closed from 1 p.m. ET today through tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., and the latter closed from 4 p.m. today through 10 a.m. tomorrow, according to a service bulletin. United said it will hold in-transit cargo at its locations until restrictions are lifted or cargo is rerouted at customer request. Express operators FedEx and UPS also have operations at TPA but have not currently announced cancelations. Flight tracking software still shows seven scheduled flights for UPS and four for FedEx this evening and tomorrow morning before 10 a.m. ET. FedEx declined to confirm its precise operational plans, but a spokesperson said the company has “contingency plans in place to lessen the impact of the storm on our operations,” and directed customers to its website for status updates. Meanwhile, a UPS spokesperson confirmed that due to the holiday weekend, aircraft were already in position at TPA to handle the planned departures. "All of our aircraft will depart from Tampa per plan before the 10 p.m. airport closing," according to the spokesperson.

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