Forrest Brown, CNN
Major U.S. airlines have issued travel waivers ahead of what is expected to be a brutal cold-weather “bomb cyclone” later this week in the Midwest and elsewhere.
An important aviation hub in Chicago is Expected to be one of the hardest hit citiesThe National Weather Service warned of a possible blizzard.
By Monday night, Chicago-based United Airlines had offered three separate winter weather waivers: one in the Midwest, one in Texas and another on the East Coast.
Amended bookings within the originally ticketed cabin and between the same cities will be waived of change fees and fare differences during the shorter rebooking window this month.
United Midwest Waiver: This applies to customers who purchased tickets through United for travel between December 21 and December 25 before last Saturday (December 17).
Nearly 30 airports in the Midwest are exempt, including Chicago O’Hare, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Find more details on each regional waiver on the United website.
Texas Common Waiver: This applies to those who bought their tickets before December 18.
The exemption applies to travel booked between Dec. 22 and Dec. 25. More than a dozen airports are exempt, including Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso and Houston.
Joint East Coast Waiver: This applies to customers who purchased tickets through United for travel between December 22 and December 25 before last Sunday (December 18).
Approximately 50 airports are exempt, including Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Nashville, all major New York City airports, Philadelphia, Toronto (Canada), and Washington, DC.
what other airlines are doing
Here’s what the rest of the big U.S. airlines posted on Monday night (all information as of 8:00 p.m. ET Monday):
• American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, Texas, has also issued waivers for entering, leaving, or passing through nearly 30 airports in the Midwest.More details US site.
• Southwest Airlinesbased in Dallas, issued a “Rocky Mountain and Midwest winter weather” waiver.
The waivers cover more than a dozen cities, including Chicago O’Hare, Denver and Minneapolis-St. Louis. Paul. The affected travel dates are December 21-23. Click here to learn more about Southwest Airlines waivers.
• JetBlue Airways, the Queens, N.Y.-based low-cost airline is issuing “Midwest Winter Weather Fee Waivers” for people flying in and out of four airports — Chicago (ORD); Kansas City (MCI); Milwaukee (MKE); and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). Click here to learn more about JetBlue exemptions.
• As of Monday night, delta airlinesbased in Atlanta, publishes Travel Advisories and Waiver Information Two airports in the Northwest Territories: Portland (PDX) and Seattle (SEA). Tickets must be purchased on or before December 18 for travel on December 20-22. Click here to view Delta’s Travel Advisory page.
• As of Monday night, alaska airlines, based in the Seattle metropolitan area, issued a winter weather waiver only for flights to and from Seattle due to heavy snowfall. Travel on December 20 requires tickets purchased on or before December 18. Click here to learn more about Alaska Airlines.
• Spirit Airlinesthe Miramar, Florida-based discount airline had not issued any weather-related travel advisories as of 8 p.m. Monday.
CNN
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. all rights reserved.
Above: Passengers arrive for their flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 16. Chicago could be hit hard by a winter “bomb cyclone” next week. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)