An alligator on the runway at Southwest Florida International Airport forced American Airlines and Delta arrivals into delay maneuvers late on October 12, with one jet landing 17 minutes late.
Controllers at the Fort Myers airport flagged the problem just before 11 p.m. local time. An alligator had been spotted on the runway as two passenger jets prepared to land.
TheTravel reported that American Airlines flight 2236 from Philadelphia and Delta Air Lines flight 2268 from Minneapolis-Saint Paul both had to hold while the runway was checked. No injuries or damage were described.
American flight 2236 had left Philadelphia International Airport at 8:09 p.m. Around 10:55 p.m., the tower passed word of the gator. The Boeing 737-800, configured for 172 passengers, then circled over the Gulf near the airport for about 15 minutes.
Audio captured on an ATC app captured the exchange with the American crew.
The controller said:
"American 2236 just got a call from the tower: there’s apparently an alligator on the runway,"
Instructions followed at once:
"Fly heading 330, amend your altitude, maintain 3,000 vectors across final while they do the inspection,"
The American jet touched down at 11:13 p.m. after a three-hour, seven-minute trip and arrived 17 minutes late. Delta flight 2268, an Airbus A321 with room for 191 passengers, finished a three-hour, 17-minute flight and still landed on time at 11:16 p.m.
Runway checks came first, schedules second
Safety protocol took priority. The tower directed a runway inspection before clearing the arrivals. FlightAware tracking showed both aircraft holding in a pattern over the water until the path was clear.
Airport delays of every kind already leave travelers stranded and angry. A severed fiber cable that halted Northeast air traffic showed how fast operations can collapse when the system breaks.
This time the cause was simpler and more Florida: a large reptile on active pavement. The airport itself did not immediately supply a public statement after being contacted for comment.
Gators have turned up at Florida airports before
Wildlife on the airfield is not new at Southwest Florida International Airport. In September 2022, a pilot spotted an alligator moving along the tarmac after landing. A passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight shared video of the animal walking across a grassy knoll toward a pond beside the taxiway. That sighting did not stop operations.
A separate October 2024 video that circulated as a Fort Myers clip was later tied to Orlando Executive Airport instead. In that footage a passenger estimated the alligator at 10 feet long as it crossed a taxiway and a worker tried to wave it off by hand. Flights were not delayed.
Those earlier episodes stayed mostly scenic. The October 12 incident forced two commercial arrivals to hold, a step that keeps jets and people safe when an unexpected animal reaches the concrete.
Serious aviation failures elsewhere carry far heavier costs. An Army probe into cascading safety breakdowns after the Black Hawk collision near Reagan National underscored how thin the margin can be around busy runways.
Weather and other delays already test Fort Myers travelers
Alligators are only one headache at the airport. On August 29, Delta flight 749 from Los Angeles to Tampa diverted to Fort Myers because of thunderstorms near Tampa. The jet landed at RSW around 7:09 p.m., sat, then left again near 9:14 p.m. and reached Tampa 22 minutes later.
A Delta spokesperson described that diversion in plain terms:
"Delta flight 749 from Los Angeles to Tampa diverted to Fort Myers due to thunderstorms in the Tampa area upon scheduled arrival,"
Passengers on that flight, including traveler Randi Hipper who had already flown from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, were told to collect bags at claim. The TSA checkpoint had already closed for the night, blocking an easy return through security.
In March, traveler Lawrence Irons and his companions hit a nine-hour delay flying into Fort Myers and ended up sleeping on the terminal floor. Leaving the same airport later brought another delay.
Irons summed up the grind:
"We sat in the airport, we slept on the floor, and then finally we got to Fort Myers,"
He added:
"Just kind of little sad that we got another delay,"
Thunderstorms across Florida destinations that same summer season also prompted at least one major carrier to offer free rebooking. Local disruption stacks up quickly for anyone trying to move through the state.
Other airport crises leave deeper scars. Five people died in an Amazon Prime Air cargo crash at Miami International Airport, a reminder that not every runway problem ends with a short hold and a late gate arrival.
No formal report details released on the gator’s exit
Open questions remain. Reporting did not describe how or when the alligator was removed, whether a formal wildlife report was filed, or if any other flights were held. Names of the pilots and the specific controller were not released. No arrests, citations, or damage figures appeared.
What is clear is the sequence on October 12: tower notification near 10:55 p.m., vectors and altitude instructions, a roughly 15-minute circle over the Gulf, then landings at 11:13 p.m. and 11:16 p.m. American finished 17 minutes behind schedule. Delta stayed on time.
Federal attention often follows tighter calls. The FAA and NTSB review of a Marine One safety breach at Reagan National shows how seriously missed holds and runway conflicts are treated when procedures slip.
In Fort Myers the conflict was a reptile, not another aircraft. Controllers still treated it as a runway hazard that required inspection before wheels down.
Florida’s airports sit in gator country. Concrete and jet engines do not change that. When wildlife reaches the pavement, the correct move is the one taken here: stop the arrivals, clear the runway, and only then bring the passengers in. Schedules matter. Intact landing gear and uninjured travelers matter more.
