Gov’s executive order leads to lower demand for flights

Reporter: Sydney Persing Writer: Jackie Winchester
Published: Updated:
Credit: Flight Aware

Gov. Ron DeSantis gave details in a news conference Tuesday about how the state is carrying out his executive order on people traveling to Florida from New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Southwest Florida International Airport and Punta Gorda Airport aren’t screening travelers coming to our area – for now.

That’s because screening measures are first implemented at major airports.

The hope is that the order will keep people from coming here, flying in from areas that are hard-hit by COVID-19.

The executive order isn’t the only thing driving down demand and leading to dozens of canceled flights.

RSW confirmed that since the spread of COVID-19, demand for flights is dropping low and fast every day.

Southwest Airlines made the call Friday to cancel nearly 1,000 flights every day to Florida. They’ve got the governor’s executive order on their radar, just in case that forces them to cancel even more.

It’s important to note that 10.2 million people flew through RSW last year.

One other takeaway from the governor: He wants everyone who has traveled from the New York City area in the last three weeks to self-isolate and report the contacts they’ve had with people here to their local health departments.

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