Check your or a loved one’s flight status before heading to the airport.
TAMPA, Fla. — If you’re flying to or from Florida the day after Christmas, you may be met with delays. This applies to Tampa International Airport.
According to TPA, the Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a delay program that impacts Florida airports. Because of this, some flights will be delayed.
TPA advises travelers to check directly with their airlines for the most up-to-date flight updates.
“TRAVEL ALERT: The FAA has implemented a delay program impacting Florida airports, including TPA,” the airport tweeted Tuesday morning. “As a result, some flights may be delayed. Please check directly with your airline for the latest flight updates.”
According to flight tracker FlightAware, 179 flights are delayed at Tampa International Airport. Information from TPA’s Flight Status shows most delayed flights are from Southwest Airlines, an airline that saw mass cancellations and delays across the country just last year.
Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines was ordered to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million agreement to settle a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
Most of the settlement will go toward compensating future passengers, which the U.S. Department of Transportation considers an incentive for Southwest to avoid repeating last winter’s mess.
The government said the assessment was the largest it has ever imposed on an airline for violating consumer protection laws.
The assessment stems from nearly 17,000 canceled flights a year ago, starting as a winter storm paralyzed Southwest operations in Denver and Chicago and then snowballing when a crew rescheduling system couldn’t keep up with the chaos.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
