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Hurricane Maria: First commercial flight from Puerto Rico to Orlando lands at OIA

By Chip Skambis
By Chip Skambis
The first commercial plane from Puerto Rico to Orlando International Airport since Hurricane Maria slammed the island landed Friday evening.
The Spirit Airlines flight was one of 11 to leave San Juan on Friday for the mainland United States, according to FlightAware.com
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Hundreds of people were on that flight, which landed shortly before 8:30 p.m.
“It was crazy. There were floods, no lights. The Hyatt I was staying in ended up being evacuated. We didn’t have anywhere to go,” said one of the passengers.
Read: Puerto Rico: Families desperate to contact loved ones after Hurricane Maria
While flights have started leaving Puerto Rico, flights have yet to leave for the island from OIA—with all flights scheduled for the island canceled Friday.
Carlos Otero had booked one of those flights, but now hopes he can leave in the morning.
Photos: Puerto Ricans rescued from flooding after Hurricane Maria
He’s trying to meet up with his 8-year-old daughter and ex-wife, who are on the island.
He has canned food and other supplies ready to go. Now, all he needs is a flight.
"Constantly, I'm checking on Southwest. I'm calling them, I'm going online,” said Otero.
But even if he makes it to the airport, reaching his relatives will be a difficult task.
"Most of the roads are undriveable,” said Otero.
He’s also not sure where he’s going to stay.
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"I'm going to take a mattress, an air mattress,” he said.
Flights from OIA to San Juan keep getting rescheduled. Just Friday night, a Spirit Airlines flight scheduled for 6 a.m. Saturday has already been delayed an hour.
"This is like someone has dropped a nuclear weapon in the middle of Puerto Rico,” said Otero.
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Cox Media Group

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