Fort Lauderdale airport reopens after historic rainfall

Airline patrons of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, closed after being inundated by record rains, lined up in droves for the reopening on Friday after an unprecedented 26-inch rainfall shut down operations earlier in the week.

Authorities said the first flights left the airport shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday after floodwaters receded and hazardous debris was removed from runways and taxiways.

But they expected the airport to be a one-runway operation into the weekend since parts of the north runway had been fully submerged beneath several feet of standing rainwater. The south runway is dry.

[ RELATED: ‘Nature wasn’t kind to us.’ Fort Lauderdale airport to remain closed until at least Friday for massive water cleanup ]

Travelers are still advised to check with their airlines or a flight tracker before going to the airport. A number of airlines are cutting back or delaying flights because of the reduced operations due to the single runway.

“Today is good; I’m going home!” said Jackie Whelan, of Toronto. She expected to leave on time at noon, in time to get home for a concert Friday evening. But she did remark on the downside of her South Florida vacation: The deluge. “I feel terrible for people whose homes were flooded. I feel very sad for them.”

She said WestJet Airlines had been very good about keeping her informed about changes to her itinerary, including texting her overnight as events changed.

“Today is the day I was supposed to travel,” said Peter Fray, of Fort Lauderdale. He was originally booked on a Spirit flight, which was canceled Thursday, and then he was rebooked on a Southwest flight Friday to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to attend a festival. “It worked out.”

The Fort Lauderdale airport is a far cry from an airfield, which it was at its founding in 1929 as Merle Fogg Airport, named after a World War I aviator. Now, it is one of the nation’s busiest airports, generating $37.5 billion in annual economic activity and supporting 18,000 direct aviation jobs, according to a history section of the airport’s website.

But on Thursday, thousands of passengers bound for U.S. and foreign destinations had to gather their bags, call relatives or summon public transportation for rides back home or to local hotels after the airport announced there would be no outbound or inbound flights for the remainder of the day.

The reason: Authorities said the waters were too high on the north runway and no one knew what type of debris was lurking beneath the surface.

About 10 a.m. Thursday, authorities said, the airport met with airline representatives and informed them that the shutdown that started at 5 p.m. Wednesday would be extended into Friday.

According to the flight tracking service FlightAware, 667 departures and arrivals at the airport were canceled on Thursday.

It remained unclear precisely how much air traffic volume would be permitted after the airport reopened.

“We cannot allow commercial aircraft operations if there is debris, sediment or anything on the runway or a taxiway,” Michael Nonnemacher. the chief operating officer and deputy director of aviation, said at the Thursday news conference. “It’s a federal aviation regulation that we have to adhere to.”

The airport opened at 9 a.m. Friday after post-dawn inspections occurred on the site.

Since the north runway is in worse shape than the south runway, which is dry, “we’ll be a one runway airport for probably two to three days,” Nonnemacher said.