Maybe this is a stupid suggestion but why didn't he utilize the city's buses to bus the tourists who had tickets but couldn't get a flight out to other cities (Meridian, MS, Birmingham, AL, Montgomery, AL, Memphis, Nashville, even Atlanta) so they could get flights home? It would have lessened the number of people stranded in the city.
I doubt the plight of tourists was the #1 problem in the Mayor's mind the last few days ~ here he is facing the total destruction of his city in a disaster of Biblical proportions, and some tourist forgot to hitch a ride.