Airlines in the United States are in recovery mode after having cancelled some 3,360 flights over the four days before and during Hurricane Florence.
The deadly storm swept through the southeastern states of North and South Carolina late last week with winds of up to 90 miles per hour and heavy rainfall.
Around 16 people are believed to have died due to flooded rivers, while another 900 people were rescued and 15,000 found safety in public shelters.
Heavy flooding in Winston-Salem. This is on University Parkway and Coliseum Drive. 😱 #HurricaneFlorence
📸: @cityofwspolice pic.twitter.com/9r0eNy23UJ
— WXII 12 News (@WXII) September 17, 2018
Due to the severity of the weather, airlines were forced to cancel round 3,360 flights in and out of the two states from Wednesday last week but confirmed they would resume operations today.
Among the carriers taking off from gateways such as Charleston International Airport today are Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest and JetBlue. They expect to be operating full schedules by late Monday.
And we found this dog. Where would she have gone next, as the water keeps rising? #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/laaeSUFHP2
— Ingrid Newkirk (@IngridNewkirk) September 16, 2018
Travellers have been advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport to avoid long lines and overcrowding at gateways, Fortune.com reported.
Airlines such as Delta Air Lines have agreed to waive cancellation and reissuing fees on the unused portion of flights for those holding tickets to affected airports scheduled to travel from 11-17 September. Click here for more information.