Hurricane Ike: Houston airports to shut down as storm nears

Houston airports will be closed to commercial flights today and Saturday as Southern Texas braces for Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm that’s already churning up huge waves that are slamming into the Galveston sea wall and the Bolivar Peninsula. The eye of the storm is expected to hit this evening along the Texas Gulf Coast, where mandatory evacuations have been in effect.

[Check out our storm-tracker, webcams and other useful sites to track Ike's path.]

Commercial flights into Houston will be suspended at 2 p.m. Central time, according to the Houston Airport System’s website. Airport officials recommend that only ticket holders who have confirmed with their airline that their flight is going should proceed to the airports — George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU) — before the shutdown.

Continental Airlines is reducing its Houston flight schedule prior to the airport closures and a page on its website explains refunds/rescheduling policies. It also provides information on refunds for canceled flights.

Southwest Airlines, which announced its suspension of flights to and from Corpus Christi (CRP) and Harlingen (HRL) airports earlier in the week, also has refunds/rescheduling policies on its website.

Southwest’s last flight out of Houston was 9 a.m. Central time today. Those flights connecting through Houston will now become nonstop flights, according to Brandy King, media spokeswoman for Southwest.

King said it’s unknown how big an area will be affected by Ike. “The storm could have some residual effects as far as Austin and San Antonio, but it’s too early to tell,” King said.

– Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: A handout photo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency showing National Guard soldiers and FEMA workers evacuating people Thursday from Texas as Hurricane Ike approaches.]

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 at 11:13 am by Mary Forgione and is filed under Airline travel, News, Tips & Advice, Southern States, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.