US: Airlines cancel hundreds of flights as hurricane hits

Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights for Thursday and again Friday as Hurricane Matthew pelted the Florida coast with high winds and heavy rain. The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down on Thursday morning, and farther north the Orlando airport expected to do the same by nighttime. Before 2 p.m. Eastern time, flight-tracking service FlightAware.com reported that 1,500 Thursday flights within the US had been scrapped, with the largest numbers at Fort Lauderdale and Miami. American Airlines, which has a major hub in Miami, was the hardest-hit carrier, followed by Southwest and JetBlue. FlightAware said airlines had already cancelled 1,300 more flights scheduled for Friday. Delta Air Lines said cancellations were likely to spread to coastal Georgia and South Carolina Saturday. Airlines often cancel flights before storms hit to prevent passengers from being stranded at airports and to keep their planes in position to recover after the bad weather passes. Many airlines were letting passengers alter their plans and delay travel for a few days without incurring the usual fee for changing a ticket, which can be $200 for domestic flights. Some, including United, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, also said they would waive the fare difference for the new ticket.<br/>