It goes without saying that in the wake of Harvey, Irma’s targeting of the Caribbean and other US territories like the USVI and Puerto Rico could cause catastrophic devastation.
We will use this blog post as a place to post updates that we receive from carrier partners, as well as our own operations in Miami. Check back here for rolling updates.
Monday, September 11, 5:30 PM ET – Final update
CFI Miami open for business tomorrow; flights to and from MIA to resume Tuesday.
Florida took a hit – Georgia and South Carolina continue to be hit, but Irma has come and gone from Miami. The cleanup is continuing at the airport who reported significant water damage but are making repairs.
You can see in this radar flight capture what the planes were doing, or rather not doing, over Florida’s airspace. 
Thanks to the efforts of our Miami team members, CFI Miami will be open for business again beginning tomorrow on our regular hours. Obviously we will be able to receive and ship cargo, but what we get will be dependent upon the airport and airlines resuming flight operations. CBP at MIA is reopening for business tomorrow morning as well.
We cannot stress enough how fortunate Miami was in this storm. While what you may have seen on the news including storm surge and wind damage looked bad, it was nothing compared to what the Keys and Southwest Florida experienced. We will clean up our corner of the Sunshine State and know it will be weeks or months before they have completely been able to clean up theirs.
Thank you to everyone for your concern, your well wishes and your patience and understanding. Weather is something out of our control; but we manage it, we ensure that our people are safe and we get back to work.
Friday, September 8, 9:00 AM ET
Irma certain to strike Florida, exact landfall and track still uncertain; CFI Miami announces Monday closure.
Preparations are being rushed to completion in not just South Florida, but the entire state at this point.
While the American and European models differ on the landfall and track precisely, what does appear is that the track will take due north up the state. The entire state of Florida will feel the impact from this storm with varying degrees of severity.
The accumulated track of storm predictions of multiple models. Image credit: Washington Post.
CFI Miami is closing tonight at 6 PM. Based on the storm’s track and intensity, we will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
We strongly encourage our clients to have your products out of our facility, if possible. There will be no flights from MIA and FLL beginning this evening as the initial tropical storm winds begin to come ashore.
Our other stations remain open and are available to handle your shipping needs.
We encourage everyone to be safe when Irma arrives.
Thursday, September 7, 9:30 AM ET
Irma moving closer to Florida, hurricane preparations continue; airline closures.
As many of you may know we are closely monitoring the advance of Hurricane Irma and we are advising everybody to stay alert to news media updates regarding this major hurricane which may be a strong category four hurricane when it comes near South Florida. Because hurricane track forecasting is not an exact science, everyone must be prepared. At this time our operations will take place as scheduled on Thursday but we will be closing early on Friday (6 PM ET) and be closed Saturday, Sunday and most likely Monday. We will keep you updated as conditions change. Unfortunately we do not know what damage the hurricane can create in its path and if weather conditions will force us to change our regular operations after Monday.
Here are the current updates from our airline partners for Miami Airport:
- United Airlines will be closed beginning today until further notice.
- Lan Chile will be closed Friday until further notice.
- Cathay Pacific will be closed Friday through next Wednesday.
- Amerijet will be closed Friday until further notice.
- American Airlines will close Friday at noon until Monday for now.
We received this list of gas stations with generators to share for everyone in South Florida.
Wednesday, September 6, 7:00 AM ET
CFI Miami to close at 6 PM Friday; remain closed through the weekend.
In observance of the possible impact of hurricanes Irma thru South Florida we would like to inform you about our schedule during this time. Please note changes in our operating hours for cargo reception.
Wednesday and Thursday we will maintained our normal schedule, but Friday, we will have a shorter workday as we will close at 6 pm. As of now, we will be closed Saturday and Sunday.
We urge to schedule any freight arrival for Thursday and move any inventory out no later than Friday as we do not know what would be the conditions after the storm to be able to maintain our regular schedule.
