By Shivansh Tiwary and Abhinav Parmar

Oct 8 (Reuters) -

Airlines, energy firms and a Universal Studios theme park

were among the companies beginning to halt their Florida

operations as they braced for disruptions with Hurricane Milton

set to make landfall on Wednesday.

The hurricane has rapidly intensified into one of the area's

most powerful on record, threatening a stretch of Florida's

densely populated west coast that is still reeling from the

devastating Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 1,311 flights within, into, or out

of the United States were delayed, and 701 were canceled, with

that number expected to rise, according to flight tracking data

provider FlightAware.

Southwest ( LUV ), one of the largest U.S. airlines, said it was

adjusting its schedule at several airports that were pausing

operations, including Tampa International Airport and Orlando

International Airport.

Orlando International, one of the busiest airports in the

U.S., said it would cease operations at 8 a.m. local time on

Wednesday, according to a notice on its website. Tampa

International said it was closed on Tuesday.

United Airlines, JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) and Air

Canada ( ACDVF ) added extra capacity to move people out of

Florida.

Hurricane Milton is expected to expand in size on Tuesday as

it approaches Florida's battered Gulf Coast, where more than 1

million people were ordered to evacuate.

President Joe Biden has postponed his Oct. 10-15 trip to

Germany and Angola to oversee storm preparation and response,

the White House said on Tuesday.

A growing number of gasoline retailers were flashing empty

signs on Tuesday as residents took to panic buying. Motorists

waited to fill their tanks in lines snaking around gas stations,

only to find that some were out of fuel, according to local

media and social-media posts.

Retailer Target ( TGT ) said it was temporarily closing or

adjusting hours of locations of its stores in the storm's path.

Department store Kohls said it temporarily closed some

stores in the area.

Energy companies began shutting down their pipelines and

fuel-delivery terminals in Tampa on Tuesday. Pipeline operator

Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) said it shut down its Central Florida

Pipeline system, two small lines that carry gasoline, diesel and

other fuels from Tampa to Orlando.

Universal Studios in Orlando was also planning to close

ahead of Milton's landfall, it said on Tuesday, while cruise

operators Royal Caribbean and Carnival said they

were adjusting some schedules.

Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous

hurricane through landfall in Florida, causing catastrophic

damage and power outages expected to last days.