• Tropical Storm Ian could cause more problems for air travel on Friday.
• Airports are looking at the weather and figuring out when they can safely start service again.
• More than 2,000 flights in the US have been cancelled as a result of the storm.

As Tropical Storm Ian moves up the East Coast and away from the Florida panhandle, it could cause more problems for air travel. Airports are looking at the weather and figuring out when they can safely start service again.

FlightAware data from Thursday shows that the number of cancelled flights is about to top the number of flights that were cancelled on Wednesday, which was the worst day for flight cancellations in the US in the last six months. At 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, more than 2,000 flights in the US have been cancelled, and more than a thousand flights have already been cancelled on Friday.

“Tropical storm Ian is moving away from Florida and into the Atlantic. It is expected to turn northwest and hit land again tomorrow in the Carolinas,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, adding that passengers should check with their airlines about the status of their flights.

CEO Rick Piccolo told media that the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport hopes to reopen by Friday night. From his office, he saw how the storm tore the roof of the airport apart. “Since the ceiling is gone, we won’t look as nice as we did before, but we’ll still be useful,” he said.

After an inspection on Thursday morning, officials at Tampa International Airport said, “TPA did not suffer any serious damage during the storm.” The airport will reopen at 10 a.m. and is expecting “high passenger volumes.” Thursday. Airport CEO Joe Lopano said in a statement that the airport is “very lucky to have come out of this mostly unscathed.”

Melbourne Orlando International Airport plans to reopen on Friday morning. It is one of the smaller commercial airports in Florida, and Allegiant, American, and Delta all fly there.

CEO James Parish said that there was “extensive” damage to the airport’s hangars and that the passenger terminal does not have power. Once the power is back on, the airport will make plans for Allegiant Air to come back, he said.

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