…As FAA Works To Handle Traffic In Gulf Region

The FAA said on Friday that all airports in the region are operating, with the exception of New Orleans Lakefront Airport, which was still under water. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) and Stennis International Airport in Bay St. Louis, Miss., are open only to relief efforts, and several other fields are restricted to daytime and/or VFR only. Over the Labor Day weekend, MSY was one of the nation’s top five busiest airports, with 3,300 flights per day, four times the usual traffic. The disaster is also having an impact on aviation events scheduled for the area. NBAA has moved its annual meeting from New Orleans to Orlando. And a Stearman event has been cancelled. NBAA’s convention now will be held Nov. 9 to 11, a week earlier than originally scheduled. And the annual Stearman fly-in in Jennings, La., scheduled for Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, will not take place.