Southwest Employee Gives Inside Look at How Tampa Airport Prepares for Hurricane Ian
It was all hands on deck.
Floridians are truly another breed. Many residents have been awfully cavalier about the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian, with the FYP on TikTok full of people explaining why they've ignored mandatory evacuation orders or getting dangerously close to surging waters, but one Florida resident has gone viral for sharing how Southwest employees at the Tampa Airport prepared for the impending weather.
TikTok user @asaptrav shared a compilation of clips from throughout the day on Tuesday, Sept. 27, as they worked to clear out the terminals and secure the equipment ahead of Ian's arrival.
"Prepping for Hurricane Ian.. Tampa Airport Edition," a voiceover read as the video began showing a busy tarmac full of planes, luggage carts and people under graying skies. "Remember how this area looks," a text overlaying the clip suggested to viewers.
The voiceover went on to explain that the airport would go into "full lockdown" at 5 p.m., and the employees had to work quickly to get everything ready in time.
Every flight, no matter whether it was departing or arriving, after 3:30 p.m. was canceled. From inside the cargo hold of one plane, as luggage was conveyed up a ramp, the TikToker got footage of the final plane to come in or out of the airport taxying to its gate.
"We have everybody working," the voiceover continued. "The agents, the supes, the managers, even our station manager and district union rep is here."
It may not be the final flight out of the airport, as he confirmed it was the last Southwest flight being pushed away from the gate in the next clip. An up-close shot showed the flight taking off, headed to Milwaukee, according to the creator.
Now that all of the flights were clear, they could get down to work securing the airport. All of the luggage trains and other equipment were stored in a garage he called the "T-Point," and the jet bridges were retracted and strapped down to the tarmac.
As the lockdown began, alarms could be heard going off in the background, as the same area from the beginning of the TikTok was suddenly quiet and empty.
As the user, who goes by Trav, according to his bio, headed home, he passed through a security checkpoint where X-Ray machines were covered in blue tarps, no TSA agents to be seen. All that was left was for the employees to file onto shuttle buses to take them back to their cars and get home safely.
The video was a fascinating look at parts of the airport that are off limits to travelers. Beyond the behind-the-scenes visuals, Trav spent some time responding to questions in the comments about the process of securing and evacuating.
"Why not load the later flights before 3:30 with people going to their destinations instead of flying planes out empty?" one commenter asked.
"Most the planes were fully loaded with people," Trav explained. "We only had about 2 ferry flights," and he later confirmed that all planes were cleared out and sent to other airports for safety.
"Good on the upper levels for being a team player. Stay safe," one commenter said.
A travel agent in the comments noted that the cancelations were killing her, and Trav said he'd never seen so many cancelations before.
Another viewer thanked Trav for working to ensure as many people could safely leave as possible. "Thank you for working today ❤️my parents were on the SW flight that left at 3. I was sooo nervous all day it would get cancelled and they'd get stuck," they wrote.
"You're very welcome. I wouldn't want to see anybody stranded here in this mess. Glad they made it out of here and to their destination ❤️," he responded.
Hopefully, the algorithm will bring us back in the aftermath to see how all their hard work held up!
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