Airline issue weather waivers as winter storm moves through the country
As a (late) winter weather system wraps up its track across the country today, airlines are preparing for possible disruptions and giving passengers extra flexibility in case their flights are disrupted.
So far, it doesn't appear to be an especially bad day for air travelers, with more than 480 flights canceled and around 1,200 more delayed at 10:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. But if you're planning to head to the airport, it's still a good idea to check the status of your flight and know what you're entitled to if something goes sideways.
In addition to the policies outlined below, the Department of Transportation has a dashboard to help travelers unpack airlines' policies around delay compensation.
You're automatically entitled to a refund if your flight is canceled for any reason, according to DOT policy, but carriers have more leeway in deciding how to compensate you in the event of a delay.
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American Airlines winter weather waiver
American Airlines issued a waiver that allows passengers traveling to, from or through the following cities on Tuesday to change their flight without paying a fee or fare difference, so long as the new travel happens by March 5.
Akron / Canton, Ohio (CAK)
Albany, New York (ALB)
Allentown, Pennsylvania (ABE)
Baltimore, Maryland (BWI)
Bangor, Maine (BGR)
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Buffalo, New York (BUF)
Burlington, Vermont (BTV)
Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Erie, Pennsylvania (ERI)
Flint, Michigan (FNT)
Fort Wayne, Indiana (FWA)
Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (MDT)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Kalamazoo / Battle Creek, Michigan (AZO)
Lansing, Michigan (LAN)
Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT)
Montreal, Canada (YUL)
New York Kennedy, New York (JFK)
New York LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHL)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT)
Portland, Maine (PWM)
Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Salisbury / Ocean City, Maryland (SBY)
South Bend, Indiana (SBN)
State College, Pennsylvania (SCE)
Syracuse, New York (SYR)
Toronto, Canada (YYZ)
Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)
Washington Dulles, Washington D.C. (IAD)
Washington Reagan, Washington D.C. (DCA)
Watertown, New York (ART)
White Plains / Westchester County, New York (HPN)
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton, Pennsylvania (AVP)
Worcester, Massachusetts (ORH)
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Delta Air Lines winter weather waiver
Delta issued a waiver allowing passengers traveling to, from or through the following cities on Tuesday to alter their plans without paying a change fee or fare difference, so long as the new travel happens on or before March 3.
Allentown, Pennsylvania (ABE)
Akron / Canton, Ohio (CAK)
Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW)
Bemidji, Minnesota (BJI)
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Brainerd, Minnesota (BRD)
Buffalo, New York (BUF)
Central Wisconsin, Wisconsin (CWA)
Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
Duluth, Minnesota (DLH)
Escanaba, Michigan (ESC)
Fargo, North Dakota (FAR)
Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)
Hibbing, Minnesota (HIB)
Kalamazoo, Michigan (AZO)
Iron Mountain, Michigan (IMT)
Marquette, Michigan (MQT)
New York Kennedy, New York (JFK)
New York LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
Pellston, Michigan (PLN)
Rhinelander, Wisconsin (RHI)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Saginaw, Michigan (MBS)
Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)
White Plains / Westchester County, New York (HPN)
Southwest Airlines winter weather waiver
Under Southwest's waiver, travelers booked to fly to, from or through any of the following airports can move their flights up to 14 days without paying a fare difference. Southwest does not charge change fees.
Albany, New York (ALB)
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Buffalo, New York (BUF)
Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Long Island/Islip, New York (ISP)
Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT)
New York-LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT)
Portland, Maine (PWM)
Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Syracuse, New York (SYR)
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United Airlines winter weather waiver
United Airlines issued a waiver allowing passengers traveling to, from or through any of the following cities on Tuesday to change their flights without paying a fee or fare difference, so long as the new travel happens on or before March 4.
Akron/Canton, Ohio (CAK)
Albany, New York (ALB)
Allentown, Pennsylvania (ABE)
Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW)
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Buffalo, New York (BUF)
Burlington, Vermont (BTV)
Chicago-O'Hare, Illinois (ORD)
Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Duluth, Minnesota (DLH)
Eau Claire, Wisconsin (EAU)
Erie, Pennsylvania (ERI)
Flint, Michigan (FNT)
Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)
Hancock, Michigan (CMX)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (MDT)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Ithaca, New York (ITH)
Johnstown, Pennsylvania (JST)
Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)
Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE)
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (MSP)
New York/Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
New York-LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT)
Portland, Maine (PWM)
Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Saginaw, Michigan (MBS)
State College, Pennsylvania (SCE)
Syracuse, New York (SYR)
Toronto, Ontario (YYZ)
Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)
White Plains, New York (HPN)
Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania (AVP)
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JetBlue winter weather waiver
Under JetBlue's waiver, passengers booked to travel to, from or through any of the following cities on Tuesday can move their flights without paying a change fee or fare difference so long as the new travel happens on or before March 3.
Albany, New York (ALB)
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Burlington, Vermont (BTV)
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
New York, New York (JFK)
New York, New York (LGA)
Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Syracuse, New York (SYR)
Westchester County, New York (HPN)
Worcester, Massachusetts (ORH)
Frontier Airlines winter weather waiver
Frontier Airlines issued a waiver allowing passengers traveling to, from or through any of the following cities on Tuesday to change their flights without paying a fee. Under the waiver, passengers will still be liable to pay any fare difference. They will lose the residual value of their ticket if the new itinerary is cheaper than the one they originally purchased. They will also have the option to cancel their travel altogether and retain the value of their ticket as a credit, but a cancellation fee will be charged.
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)
New York, New York (LGA)
Islip, New York (ISP),
Hudson Valley/Stewart, New York (SWF)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
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Spirit Airlines winter weather waiver
Under Spirit Airlines' waiver, passengers scheduled to fly to, from or through any of the following cities on Tuesday can change their reservation without paying a fee or fare difference, so long as the new travel happens on or before March 4.
Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT)
New York, New York (LGA)
Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
Rochester, New York (ROC)
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Airline waivers help travelers affected by Tuesday's winter weather
