It’s all hands on deck during hurricane season
Can a plane fly over a hurricane? Yes, it is possible to overfly a hurricane while staying away from the storm. Pilots check carefully for reports or forecast of turbulence when coordinating with flight dispatchers for selecting the route.
How do airlines deal with hurricane season?
When hurricanes and tropical storms develop, airline operations centers make many decisions to protect passengers, crews and aircraft. These decisions include how long they will continue to fly in and out of airports near a storm’s projected path. Airplanes that were scheduled to spend the night at an threatened airport will instead be flown to airports away from the storm.
Bear in mind that many airlines use hub airports in major cities, where passengers connect to smaller, outlying airports in the region. Large numbers of flights arrive and depart from them on a daily basis. If these hubs are hit by a storm, it can take several days to resume normal operations. Loss of a hub can affect large numbers of passengers and freight shippers.
Flight dispatchers, crew schedulers and maintenance planners work together to restore the flight schedule. And remember, you’re not the only one being put out by the storm: Flight crews have to be flexible during irregular operations, because their schedule is likely to be changed.
It’s also worth noting that hurricane season is challenging every year. If a storm is coming, listen carefully for notifications from the airline and be flexible for changes in your itinerary.
And remember that a large number of highly experienced professionals are working to get you to your destination as close to your planned time as possible.