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Dead armadillo on runway causes delayed flights at OIA, officials say

Runway temporarily closed while remains were removed

Orlando International Airport on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Jacob Langston, Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

ORLANDO, Fla. – A dead armadillo on a runway at Orlando International Airport caused a number of delayed flights Wednesday morning, transportation officials said.

According to a news release, a Southwest airlines flight was arriving at OIA around 7 a.m. when the pilots “discovered that an armadillo had been previously hit on the runway.”

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Orlando International Airport Airfield Ops Wildlife Division responded and removed the remains, temporarily closing the runway, officials said.

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The closure happened during one of the busiest times of the day at the airport and caused additional delays because routine maintenance and construction was occurring on two other runways. This resulted in only one operational runway for around 20 minutes, according to the release.

Airport officials said there were 43 delays between 30-60 minutes before the airport’s runways returned to normal operations.


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