Eclipse could cause flight delays, rerouting across airports in pathway, FAA alert says

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday’s eclipse could end up affecting air travel across the nation, according to an alert.

Monday, the “Great North American Eclipse” will be visible from different parts of the country, with some locations being in the pathway of totality. This means that these areas will have a total solar eclipse while other regions will observe a partial eclipse.

TIMELINE: When will we see the solar eclipse in Tampa Bay?

According to NASA, the eclipse will begin passing over the United States at about 1:30 EDT, beginning in Texas and ending in Maine. The map can be seen below.

Due to the change in visibility, the FAA said there could be possible impacts on this area between April 7 and April 10.

“Aircraft should be prepared for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and/or Expect Departure Clearance Times (EDCTs) that may be issued for all domestic IFR arrivals and departures,” the FAA said. “Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are possible. In order to assist FBOs with staging aircraft and to ease ramp congestion, aircraft departing airports along the eclipse path are strongly encouraged to coordinate their departure times as early as possible.”

The FAA said due to the high air traffic that usually goes across the eclipse path, there could be lengthy delays at affected airports.

According to Tampa International Airport, flights to and from Tampa are not expecting any adverse effects from the eclipse. As of this report, only two flights have been canceled and 23 have been delayed.

To find a list of airports affected by the eclipse, click here.

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