More than 900 flights have been canceled as of Wednesday afternoon, as Hurricane Idalia made landfall and disrupted travel across the U.S. Southeast.

Southwest Airlines, which has a heavy presence in the U.S. state of Florida, canceled over 200 flights Wednesday, according to data from flight-tracking service FlightAware.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines have cancelled 150 flights.

Airports at Tampa, Clearwater and Tallahassee in Florida have shut down operations due to the powerful hurricane.

Large numbers of flights to and from the airports in Florida's Jacksonville and Sarasota, as well as Georgia's Savannah, have been canceled.

Airlines including Delta, United, American and Southwest have issued rebooking waivers for people traveling to and from cities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina between Monday and Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday that the storm could have effects beyond the immediate area where it made landfall and urged travelers to check with airlines before heading to the airport.

xinhua