Investing.com - The shares of airline companies took a hit on Thursday, as Hurricane Irma spurred hundreds of flight cancellations.
According to Flightstats, 356 flights had already been canceled on Thursday, following 501 cancellations on Wednesday as the Hurricane barrelled toward Florida. It has been a tough few weeks for airlines operating in the U.S., last week 8,343 flights were canceled due to Hurricane Harvey.
While U.S. airlines are being hit across the board, the top loser on Thursday was JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU). JetBlue has two hubs in Florida. Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL), Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) were also lower.
Hurricane Irma, one of the largest storms to ever form in the Atlantic has already caused destruction and loss of lives in the Caribbean. It is on a path to Florida, it will hit the Bahamas Thursday night and should hit Florida on Sunday.