2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Hilary Mitchell)
Virgin Atlantic has grounded planned flights from the Scottish airport and beyond - with major delays expected. Get the latest top news stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters Get the latest top news stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters Scots with holidays planned to Florida continue to experience disruption, as Hurricane Milton wreaks havoc on the US state. Hurricane Milton smashed into Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, 9 October pounding the coast with ferocious winds of more than 100mph (160kph) and producing a series of tornadoes around the state.
Nearly three million people are currently without power in Florida and a state of emergency has been declared, with Tampa and Orlando airports both closed. Edinburgh holidaymakers have been impacted by the disaster as flights to Florida from Edinburgh Airport have been cancelled on Thursday. This follows on from earlier cancellations made by Virgin Atlantic earlier this week.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS225 from Edinburgh to Orlando, initially scheduled for Wednesday, October 9 was initially been delayed by 23 hours to Thursday October, 10. However, in a subsequent update by the airline , it advised that "VS225 – Edinburgh – Orlando has been delayed by a further 23 hours and will now operate on Friday 11 October." Due to the extreme delays, Virgin Atlantic say: "Customers who no longer wish to travel will be entitled to a refund, and can request this here .
" Flights from other parts of the UK have also been impacted, including London Heathrow to Tampa, London Heathrow to Orlando and Manchester to Orlando ." Hurricane Milton had maximum sustained winds of 120mph (205kph) as it came ashore 8.30pm local time near Siesta Key.
Since then, construction cranes have been toppled and smashed into buildings , widespread flooding has been reported and the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium has been ripped off. As of Thursday morning (UK time) the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre says maximum winds are now at 85mph with the storm 30 miles off Orlando. The US National Weather Service has issued the highest level of flood warning to more than two million residents within Milton’s path.
In a statement about the flight cancellations, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Due to severe weather conditions expected to be caused by Hurricane Milton , a state of emergency has been declared in Florida, and Tampa and Orlando airports are closing. Unfortunately this has impacted our flying schedule, and services to and from Orlando and Tampa are subject to cancellations and delays. “The safety and welfare of our customers and crew is our top priority and we are contacting any Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers who may be impacted by the hurricane to discuss their options and we ask that anyone travelling checks the status of their flights on virginatlantic.
com for the latest information. "We’d like to thank our customers for their patience as we work through the impact of Hurricane Milton." Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
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