Some Airports Drubbed By Wilma Still Closed

As of 12 noon EDT on Wednesday, October 26, (the most recent official information from the FAA) four airports that mostly serve GA remained closed. Two more were only conducting restricted operations. The FAA did not publish an update at 1700 EDT as it did on prior days.

The airports that remained closed were:

• Boca Raton (BCT)
• Key West (EYW)
• Marco Island (MKY)
• North Perry-Hollywood (HWO)

Under restrictions were:

• Opa Locka (OPF) - Open to emergency and supply aircraft only
• Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL) - Open to helicopters and limited fixed-wing aircraft only

No, we don't know what they mean by "limited fixed-wing aircraft only." We're thinking that ought to mean that you can land their in your Limited category P-51, right?

Give it a try and let us know how it works out.

Airports that had been closed or under restrictions on the previous list at 1700 Tuesday include:

• Ft. Lauderdale Executive (FXE)
• Marathon (MTH)
• Pompano Beach Airpark (PMP)
• Miami (MIA)

Now they're open, but that's not the same thing as "back to normal." Not all facilities may be available at these airports. Getting a live brief, and calling a couple of numbers from the A/FD, might not be a bad idea.

And we're still looking for additional first-person reports from those whose dromes are affected by the storm.

FMI: www.faa.gov, http://faa.gov/news/disaster_response/wilma/airport_status/