Aviation Weather Hazards: Hurricanes

 

Aviation Weather Hazards

    As we near the beginning of June, we are entering the beginning of hurricane season. The official Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1st and carries out until November 30th each year. So what does this mean for the aviation industry, you might be wondering. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey impacted the southern coast of the United States, hitting several southern states. Texas took the brunt of the hurricane, with the major city of Houston taking major damage. Of that damage, George Bush International Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) were the most impacted airports and had to be temporarily shut down. Because of this, it is estimated that almost 110 thousand passengers per day were affected by Hurricane Harvey, around 3% of total passengers flying in the United States. (Assessment of Hurricane Harvey’s impact on aviation 2017) With these airports shut down, it was estimated that the airlines lost around $30-35 million a day in passenger revenue. Additionally, Hurricane Harvey disrupted the supply chain of crude oil, resulting in jet fuel prices temporarily spiking. 

  I chose this type of event because of a hurricane's ability to disrupt an entire industry within a matter of hours. Though we are able to track and monitor the development of a hurricane, it is nearly impossible to know how or exactly where it will impact until just hours before it makes landfall. With that, it is likely that during the development of a hurricane in the oceans, it will damage or disrupt the oil industry, inevitably raising the price of aviation fuel. Furthermore, if a hurricane does make landfall and disrupt an airport's operations, commuting passengers aren't the only disruption of services as many airports are the hubs for cargo and parcel services. In preparations for an impending hurricane, other than suspending flights and relocating aircraft to other airports outside of the hurricane's reach, I'm not certain what more can be done to alleviate the disruption of a hurricane to an airport's operations.  

References:

IATA. (2017, October 1). Assessment of Hurricane Harvey’s impact on aviation [web log]. Retrieved May 21, 2023, from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/hurricane-harvey-impact-on-aviation/.