Allegiant cancels flight from Cedar Rapids to Orlando

With Hurricane Matthew on track to pound Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, airlines are canceling arriving and departing flights.

Allegiant Air canceled its 9:33 a.m. flight from The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids to Orlando-Sanford International Airport.

The Las Vegas-based airline's flight from Orlando arrived in Cedar Rapids on Thursday morning.

Allegiant has canceled all flights to Orlando-Sanford for the remainder of the day.

With Matthew approaching, air travel into south Florida has ground to a halt. The storm already has forced the cancellation of almost 2,500 flights.

Matthew is expected to be the strongest hurricane to threaten the Atlantic Coast in more than a decade. More than 1.5 million people in Florida have been urged to evacuate as the state prepares for a possible direct hit.

The last time Florida took a such a pounding from a Category 3 hurricane or higher was in 2005, when Wilma caused almost $17 billion in damage to south Florida.

Reuters contributed to this story.