The week began with a massive winter storm that hit the U.S. East Coast.
Areas along the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington saw more than a foot of snow as what meteorologists have dubbed Winter Storm Blair moved inland toward the Midwest.
FlightAware data show that on Jan. 5 and 6 more than 5,000 flights were canceled across airports such as Newark, LaGuardia, Philadelphia International, Charlotte Douglas and Boston Logan.
A further 1,500 flights were delayed and either restarted or called off in the same days.
Options if flight is significantly delayed or canceled
The widespread disruption has left many travelers stranded at airports. Photos shared on social media show crowds sitting on airport floors across the country. The Kansas City Chiefs football team was unable to fly out for a game against the Denver Broncos after heavy ice accumulation shut down Kansas City International Airport.
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Seven states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia — have declared states of emergency.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) has offered a travel waiver for flights out of a range of cities most heavily affected by the storm.
Those departing from places such as Baltimore, Louisville, Wichita and Kansas City among others are able to rebook flights to different times without additional fees. Customers whose flights are canceled or delayed by more than three hours are also eligible for a refund of the unflown portion. (This can be claimed only if one ended up not flying.)
“Customers have options if their flight is significantly delayed or canceled for any reason,” Delta Air writes. “Customers experiencing a significantly delayed or canceled flight can also review flight options and rebook their itinerary on the Fly Delta app or My Trips on delta.com.”
American Airlines (AAL) also issued a travel notice that encompasses the largest number of cities of any U.S. airline — these include cities such as Knoxville, Tenn., and Charlotesville. W.Va., as well as smaller regional airports in Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri to which the carrier flies.
For travel booked between Jan. 2 and 6, travelers can rebook free of change fees until Jan. 10.
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JetBlue Airways (JBLU) also has a similar travel notice in place for flights departing from or flying into Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond and Washington, D.C.
The advice from most carriers is either to rebook flights directly through their apps. Travelers also can ask agents to do this by calling in, though this will usually take longer when multiple travelers are looking to do the same.
While Delta is offering refunds even if a passenger from an affected city chooses not to fly, several other carriers are doing this only if a flight was formally canceled.
“Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Wednesday, January 15, 2025, online in the manage trips section of jetblue.com prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight,” JetBlue writes.
“Customers with canceled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment. Original travel must have been booked on or before Thursday, January 2, 2025.”
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