Coronavirus Impact: Flights At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Slow To A Trickle
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - How long will they continue to fly? It is a question haunting airport operators across the nation.
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport is no exception.
Greg Meyer, Public Information Officer with Broward County Aviation Department says: "Most of our international destinations have been suspended. We are still going to Brazil, to Canada but the rest have been suspended."
On a typical day, 80,000 passengers pass through FLL. These days, the coronavirus pandemic has shrunk that number to 4 to 5 thousand passengers.
"What's unfortunate is while these planes continue to fly, they are almost empty. Maybe ten people more or less depending on where they are going," Meyer said.
Many airlines serving Fort Lauderdale have chucked it in and suspended service.
Copa, Swoop, Emirates, Dubai, Norwegian, Avianca, West Jet are among the airliners no longer flying.
Allegiant, Spirit, and Air Canada are now operating at reduced schedules.
"This airport has over 90 concessions. Ten are now open. Restaurants and newsstands operating at a reduced capacity," said Meyer.
It all boils down to no demand out there to fly, other than what is absolutely necessary. Folks trying to get home to shelter in and medical personnel and first responders heading to hot spots.
"The airlines are trying to make this decision at high levels on whether it makes sense to fly these aircraft. How long can they fly a plane with a crew of five or six and there are five or six passengers. They have to do the math and figure out how long they can sustain this," added Meyer.
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