Thursday flight cancellations: More than 1,000 US flights affected, airlines issue waivers
More than 1,000 U.S. flights have been canceled while another 3,800 others have been delayed as of 3:30 pm ET Thursday, according to FlightAware, as a massive winter storm system continued to beleaguer northern states.
Nearly 1 million customers were without power in five states Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, while another 4.3 million Americans are under a winter storm warning.
Travelers should check their flight status with their airline and, if needed, passenger rights on the Department of Transportation’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard. Anyone whose flight is canceled has the right to a refund, regardless of the type of ticket booked, according to DOT rules.
Delta, SkyWest and Southwest have the highest number of cancellations among U.S. airlines, impacting between 2 and 7% of their scheduled flights.
Flight delayed or canceled?:What you need to know and what airlines owe travelers.
American Airlines
American issued waivers for airports nationwide, including on the East Coast, Midwest, and the Great Plains. If you’re flying with American to, from or through any of the following cities through Friday, you change your flight without paying a change fee. Travelers must fly by Tuesday.
- Albany, New York (ALB)
- Bangor, Maine (BGR)
- Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
- Buffalo, New York (BUF)
- Burlington, Vermont (BTV)
- Hartford, Connecticut (BDL)
- Ithaca, New York (ITH)
- Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT)
- Montreal, Canada (YUL)
- Portland, Maine (PWM)
- Providence, Rhode Island (PVD)
- Rochester, New York (ROC)
- Syracuse, New York (SYR)
- Toronto, Canada (YYZ)
- Watertown, New York (ART)
- Worcester, Massachusetts (ORH)
If you’re booked on American to travel to, from or through any of the following cities through Thursday, you can change your itinerary to fly on Monday or sooner without paying a change fee.
- Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW)
- Aspen, Colorado (ASE)
- Billings, Montana (BIL)
- Bismarck, North Dakota (BIS)
- Boise, Idaho (BOI)
- Bozeman, Montana (BZN)
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID)
- Chicago, Illinois (ORD)
- Colorado Springs, Colorado (COS)
- Denver, Colorado (DEN)
- Des Moines, Iowa (DSM)
- Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
- Durango, Colorado (DUR)
- Fargo, North Dakota (FAR)
- Flagstaff, Arizona (FLG)
- Flint, Michigan (FNT)
- Grand Island, Nebraska (GRI)
- Grand Junction, Colorado (GJT)
- Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
- Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)
- Idaho Falls, Idaho (IDA)
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)
- Kalamazoo / Battle Creek, Michigan (AZO)
- La Crosse, Wisconsin (LSE)
- Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)
- Marquette, Michigan (MQT)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE)
- Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota (MSP)
- Missoula, Montana (MSO)
- Montrose / Telluride, Colorado (MTJ)
- Omaha, Nebraska (OMA)
- Rapid City, South Dakota (RAP)
- Rochester, Minnesota (RST)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)
- Santa Fe, New Mexico (SAF)
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FSD)
- St. George, Utah (SGU)
- Steamboat Springs / Hayden, Colorado (HDN)
- Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)
- Vail / Eagle, Colorado (EGE)
- Wausau, Wisconsin (CWA)
Delta Air Lines
Delta has issued a travel waiver for flights booked to, from and through the following cities in Minnesota: Bemidji, Brainerd, Duluth, Hibbing, International Falls, Minneapolis and Rochester. Customers who had flights booked through Friday may reschedule without penalty by Monday. Rebooked travel must also begin by Monday. If those dates won’t work, customers may cancel their reservation and apply their flight credit toward future travel.
The airline has also issued a Rocky Mountain region waiver for Calgary, Canada; Jackson, Wyoming and Salt Lake City, Utah. Travelers who were booked to fly to, from or through those cities through Wednesday can move their itinerary to Saturday or sooner without paying a change fee or fare difference, even on basic economy tickets.
Southwest Airlines
Customers with flights booked through the following cities may rebook or fly standby within 14 days of their original travel dates without paying extra fees. More details are available on Southwest’s website.
Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 20-22
- Bozeman/Yellowstone, MT (BZN)
- Colorado Springs, CO (COS)
- Denver, CO (DEN)
- Montrose/Telluride/Crested Butte, CO (MTJ)
- Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
- Steamboat Springs/Hayden, CO (HDN)
Monday-Thursday, February 20-23
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)
Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 21-23
- Detroit, MI (DTW)
- Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
- Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
- Portland, ME (PWM)
United Airlines
United has waivers in place for the Midwest and Northeast. Here are the terms:
Northeast
If you booked travel to, from or through the following cities on Wednesday or Thursday, you can change your travel to Tuesday or sooner without paying a fare difference or change fee.
- Albany, NY (ALB)
- Bangor, ME (BGR)
- Boston, MA (BOS)
- Buffalo, NY (BUF)
- Burlington, VT (BTV)
- Hartford, CT (BDL)
- Ithaca, NY (ITH)
- Manchester, NH (MHT)
- Portland, ME (PWM)
- Rochester, NY (ROC)
- Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Midwest
If you booked travel to, from or through the following cities on Wednesday or Thursday, you can change your ticket to fly on Monday or sooner without paying a change fee or fare difference.
- Appleton, WI (ATW)
- Buffalo, NY (BUF)
- Cedar Rapids, IA (CID)
- Chicago-O’Hare, IL (ORD)
- Cleveland, OH (CLE)
- Des Moines, IA (DSM)
- Detroit, MI (DTW)
- Duluth, MN (DLH)
- Eau Claire, WI (EAU)
- Erie, PA (ERI)
- Fargo, ND (FAR)
- Flint, MI (FNT)
- Fort Dodge, IA (FOD)
- Fort Wayne, IN (FWA)
- Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
- Green Bay, WI (GRB)
- Hancock, MI (CMX)
- Ithaca, NY (ITH)
- Lincoln, NE (LNK)
- Madison, WI (MSN)
- Mason City, IA (MCW)
- Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)
- Moline, IL (MLI)
- Omaha, NE (OMA)
- Rochester, NY (ROC)
- Sioux City, IA (SUX)
- Sioux Falls, SD (FSD)
- South Bend, IN (SBN)
- Syracuse, NY (SYR)
- Toronto, ON, CA (YYZ)
- Traverse City, MI (TVC)
JetBlue
JetBlue is offering travel waivers in certain Northeast, Midwest and Rocky Mountain destinations.
Those flying to, from or through the following cities on Wednesday or Thursday can change their reservations to travel on Monday or sooner without paying a change fee or fare difference.
- Albany, NY (ALB)
- Buffalo, NY (BUF)
- Cleveland, OH (CLE)
- Detroit, MI (DTW)
- Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)
- Rochester, NY (ROC)
- Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Frontier Airlines
Frontier’s waiver allows passengers booked to travel to, from or through the following cities between Tuesday and Thursday to rebook their trip without paying a change fee.
- Buffalo, NY (BUF)
- Cedar Rapids, IA (CID)
- Denver, CO (DEN)
- Des Moines, IA (DSM)
- Detroit, MI (DTW)
- Fargo, ND (FAR)
- Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
- Green Bay, WI (GRB)
- Madison, WI (MSN)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP)
- Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
- Omaha, NE (OMA)
- Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
- Sioux Falls, SD (FSD)
- Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Spirit Airlines
Under Spirit’s waiver, passengers booked to travel to, from or through the following cities between Tuesday and Thursday can change their trip to fly on Monday or sooner without paying a change fee or fare difference.
- Denver, CO (DEN)
- Minneapolis, MN (MSP)
- Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)