"Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis is closed indefinitely due to severe damage after a storm, including a possible tornado, struck last night.
“All inbound and outbound flights are canceled at Lambert until further notice pending safety and operational assessments to determine the full extent of damage to the airport complex and the surrounding area,” the airport said in a statement today.
The storm broke most of the glass windows and doors and tore off sections of the roof at one of Lambert’s concourses, according to Jeff Lea, a spokesman for the airport.
“We had damage to light poles, signs as well as trees and fences,” Lea said in an interview. “Some vehicles were turned over.”
As many as 12.3 million passengers passed through Lambert last year, Lea said. The airport operates 256 departures daily and about the same number of arrivals, and is served by 13 carriers flying to 61 destinations, according to the airport’s website.
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), the biggest carrier at the airport, canceled the majority of its 85 Lambert flights through 4 p.m. local time, said a spokeswoman, Marilee McInnis. She said the low-fare carrier was forced to scrub nine flights last night after the storm and other flights were diverted. Southwest doesn’t charge penalties for rebooking flights." Read Source - Via Bloomberg
