Tropical Storm Beryl Hits Air Travel, Commodity Prices

The impact of Tropical Storm Beryl, which made landfall in Texas early Monday as a hurricane, is being felt across multiple industries.

Hundreds of flights into and out of key Texas airports in Houston and Dallas were canceled or delayed, hitting major airlines, while some commodities such as oil futures fell as markets reacted.

Millions of Texans were reportedly left without power and at least two people were killed after the storm hit the Caribbean and parts of Mexico last week.

The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm from a hurricane Monday.

Flight Cancellations Hit Major Airlines

Hundreds of flights were canceled at Houston and Dallas airports Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

Several airlines, including United (UAL) and Southwest (LUV), have issued travel advisories through at least Tuesday, informing customers that scheduled flights to and from areas such as Houston, Austin, and Corpus Christi could be affected by the storm.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday that the storm could also cause disruptions in other parts of the country this week as it moves further north through Texas and to the northeast.

Wide-Ranging Impacts

Beryl has affected other industries and areas of the market as well, including cruise stocks such as Royal Caribbean (RCL), Carnival (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH). Those stocks rebounded Monday after being driven lower last week as ships were forced to reroute to avoid the storm.

A number of the largest ports in Texas were closed over the weekend as the Coast Guard monitored the approaching storm, according to Reuters.

Oil futures slid amid anticipation of a hit to demand for oil, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling over 1% Monday.