Major airlines offering waivers to change flights out of KCI ahead of winter storm

If you have travel plans this holiday week, beware that some airlines might ask you to change your flight due to the winter storm. Many airlines are waiving those change and cancellation fees.

A winter storm watch is in place for most of the Midwest. Kansas City will see extremely cold temperatures starting on Thursday until Christmas Day on Sunday.

In addition to the cold, there will be snow creating blizzard-like conditions throughout the city. The National Weather Service is strongly discouraging travel on Thursday and Friday because of the extreme weather.

“We’re getting equipment ready, and people will be on standby so essentially, when the first snowflake flies, we’ll have people out and ready to remove snow from the airfield,” said Kansas City Aviation Department spokesperson Joe McBride.

McBride added that almost all airlines will try to make it easier on passengers to avoid traveling during the storm or make new arrangements, if necessary.

Airlines like Jet Blue, Southwest and American Airlines are just a few of the major carriers that will be helping passengers change or cancel their flights in preparation for the storm.

Southwest

Southwest said it never charges for change or cancellation fees. Travelers flying out of KCI should be on the lookout for any changes to their flights. If you are flying with Southwest, make sure to confirm your flight status at Southwest.com before heading to the airport.

Here’s a list of airports served by Southwest that are currently under a travel advisory:

Chicago (Midway), IL (MDW)

Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD)

Denver, CO (DEN)

Des Moines, IA (DSM)

Detroit, MI (DTW)

Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)

Indianapolis, IN (IND)

Kansas City, MO (MCI)

Milwaukee, WI (MKE)

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)

Omaha, NE (OMA)

St. Louis, MO (STL)

Jet Blue

Jet Blue passengers will also get special waivers for any change or cancellation fees if they are traveling between Wednesday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 23, specifically for passengers that are traveling through the following cities:

Chicago, IL (ORD)

Kansas City, MO (MCI)

Milwaukee, WI (MKE)

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)

If a flight gets canceled, passengers can also get a refund for the flight. Flights need to have been booked before Monday Dec. 19, in order to be eligible for waivers or refunds. If you would like to rebook a flight, make sure to visit JetBlue.com.

American Airlines

If you’re flying American Airlines this holiday season, you might be able to get your change of flight fee waived if you booked before Dec. 19, are scheduled to travel between Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 and have the flexibility to reebok between Dec. 19 and Dec. 30. If you do opt to change your flight, you cannot change your origin or destination city in order to receive the waiver. You also need to rebook by Dec 23. Here’s a list of airports American Airlines serves that are impacted by this travel advisory.

Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW)

Bloomington / Normal, Illinois (BMI)

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID)

Champaign / Urbana, Illinois (CMI)

Columbia, Missouri (COU)

Des Moines, Iowa (DSM)

Fort Wayne, Indiana (FWA)

Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)

Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)

Indianapolis, Indiana (IND)

Kalamazoo / Battle Creek, Michigan (AZO)

Kansas City, Missouri (MCI)

La Crosse, Wisconsin (LSE)

Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE)

Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota (MSP)

Moline, Illinois (MLI)

Omaha, Nebraska (OMA)

Chicago, Illinois (ORD)

Peoria, Illinois (PIA)

Rochester, Minnesota (RST)

Rochester, Minnesota (FSD)

South Bend, Indiana (SBN)

Springfield, Illinois (SPI)

St. Louis, Missouri (STL)

Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)

Waterloo, Iowa (ALO)

Wausau, Wisconsin (CWA)