AIRPORT REGROUPS IN TORNADO'S WAKE BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Damage to the nose of an American Airlines plane seen through a shattered window at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport's C concourse.

The main airport in St. Louis limped back into operation Sunday after being knocked out Friday by a powerful tornado that ripped off part of the roof, blew out plate-glass windows, damaged some planes on the ground and sent five people to hospitals.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport actually accepted a few inbound planes Saturday night after restoring power to the facility and verifying that the airfield was intact, officials said. But the airport didn't open to departing flights until Sunday, and authorities said they hoped they could accommodate 70% of the normal schedule. Full operations may resume by midweek, although repairs to the city-run airport could take months.

Some Operations Resume

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Johnny Andrews/Edwardsville Intelligener via Associated Press

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Southwest Airlines Co., the biggest operator at Lambert, said it planned to resume its flight schedule Sunday. On its website Sunday, flights from St. Louis to a number of destinations were shown as departing. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the No. 2 carrier at Lambert, said it hoped to get back in the air on Monday. Both are letting customers postpone their travel without penalty.

AirTran Holdings Inc.'s AirTran Airways said it hoped to run limited operations Sunday, but is letting customers postpone travel or change itineraries to arrive or depart from Chicago, Kansas City and other nearby airports.

Restoring operations will be more challenged for the four airlines—American, AirTran, Frontier Airlines and Cape Air—housed in the C Concourse, which lost part of its roof and many windows. That building and the airport's landmark Terminal 1, designed by famed World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki, sustained the most damage. Airport officials hope to move those carriers temporarily to Terminal 2 and the A Concourse, which are functional.

A tornado rips through St. Louis leaving behind a trail of rubble and broken homes, with no fatalities reported. Video courtesy Reuters.

The National Weather Service said the "intense supercell thunderstorm" produced a tornado that traveled 22 miles on Friday night, with winds reaching a maximum intensity of more than 166 mph just as it moved through the community of Bridgeton, Mo., just west of the airport. Miraculously, no one was killed in the storm, which flattened trees, leveled some housing subdivisions and blew trucks off highways. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and released state funds to help with the cleanup.

Only five people at the airport were taken to hospitals and all were treated and released, said Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, the airport director. Others were treated at the scene for cuts. Passengers and airport and airline staffers had warning of the storm, and many were moved to the lower level and away from windows and doors. Some injuries and damage occurred in the parking garage.

Southwest, which had six planes on the ground when the storm hit, said one was slightly damaged after being struck by baggage-loading equipment. American, which had five planes on the ground, said two had "significant damage." The spokesman said American mechanics in St. Louis were working to restore those planes to service, and the airline has set up a "command center" in its cargo facility at Lambert.

Lambert, the nation's 30th busiest airport, handled 12.3 million passengers last year. That is well below its peak of 30 million in 2000, when it was a major hub for Trans World Airlines. But TWA, in bankruptcy for the third time, was sold at auction to American in 2001. American later shrank the St. Louis operations, and now operates just 60 flights a day.