TORONTO — Amid a long list of flight cancellations in and out of Florida today in the wake of Hurricane Milton, the state’s biggest airports are initiating safety assessments with an eye to reopening now that the storm has passed over to the Atlantic.

About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 135 kph and leaving the state near Cape Canaveral.

The system tracked to the south of Tampa in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 112 kilometres south of Tampa.

More than 3.2 million homes and businesses across the state are now without electricity.

AIRPORT CLOSURES

Here’s a look at the latest updates from some of Florida’s biggest airports as of 11 a.m. today, Oct. 10, with links to each airport’s site for the latest info …

Tampa International Airport

With Hurricane Milton moving out of the region, Tampa International Airport is conducting an assessment of conditions on the airfield and throughout Airport facilities Thursday morning. TPA officials plan to announce a reopening plan later on Thursday, after a thorough inspection of the 3,300-acre campus and its buildings has been completed.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport

PIE remains closed today, Oct. 10.

Orlando International Airport 

Orlando International Airport ceased commercial operations starting Oct. 9 and a check on its site today says “no decision has been made yet on when service will resume.”

Orlando Sanford International Airport 

Orlando Sanford International Airport’s site says SFB is currently closed to the public. “We will resume operations once it is safe to do so, based on safety assessments.”

Daytona Beach International Airport 

DAB ceased commercial passenger and private operations amid the hurricane. “Reopening on Friday will be determined after post-storm inspections.”

Palm Beach International Airport 

Palm Beach International Airport says it experienced no major damage to facilities due to Hurricane Milton. Flight operations are anticipated to resume today, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. for arriving flights. “Plan on arriving two hours before your flight. Airline service will be limited. Check with your airline before coming to the airport due to flight cancellations. Please note that there will be limited shopping and dining options on Thursday,” says PBI.

Miami International Airport

“MIA is open but some flights are impacted by Hurricane Milton,” says MIA.

Melbourne Orlando International Airport 

Melbourne Orlando International Airport is currently closed and plans to reopen at 9 a.m. on Friday.

Naples Airport 

Naples Airport is currently closed. An update on its site says “we anticipate reopening once weather conditions permit and airfield inspection has been completed.”

Southwest Florida International Airport

RSW is currently closed. “We plan to resume operations on Friday, Oct. 11, but that will depend on a damage assessment and staffing, as many RSW employees will be impacted by the storm,” says the RSW site.

Melbourne Orlando International Airport 

MLB remains closed today. “We plan to reopen at 9 AM on Friday, pending safe conditions.”

UPDATE FROM AIRLINES

Air Canada has extended its travel alerts for Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Miami, Orlando and Tampa for Oct. 10, Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 (and also Bermuda on Oct. 11). More details can be found here.

WestJet and WestJet Vacations are also making it easier for passengers to change plans for travel to/from Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Ft. Myers and Tampa through Oct. 12 (and also Nassau Oct. 10 and Oct. 11). For the latest updates click here.

Flair Airlines is alerting passengers of cancelled flights between FLL and YYZ on Oct. 10. Transat has also issued an update. Porter Airlines has advisories in place for Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando Oct. 10 and Oct. 11.

THEME PARK CLOSURES

In Orlando, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando remain closed today. 

More details about the closures at Walt Disney World can be found here. For Universal Orlando Resort, click here, and for SeaWorld Orlando, click here.

With file from The Associated Press