Mass flight cancellations are set to start Friday, affecting nearly every major U.S. airline and travelers across the country.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration announced they would require a 10% cutback in air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports.
Picture a major airline hub and it’s affected, from New York to Washington, Boston, Atlanta, South Florida, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles … and more.
The move comes as the lingering federal government shutdown — now the longest in history — strains the nation’s air traffic controller workforce, and employees have not received a full paycheck in weeks.
Airlines spent Thursday scrambling to determine which flights to cancel, leaving travelers to wonder if their upcoming flights would take off on time — or at all.
FAA flight cuts: What to know
Meanwhile, some of the largest U.S. airlines announced more lenient flight change and cancellation policies, and they offered some clues about how they plan to approach the flight cancellations mandated by the Trump administration.
Here’s what to know.
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American Airlines
American Airlines on Thursday said its long-haul international routes would continue as scheduled, and it pledged to “proactively reach out” to customers facing cancellations.
“To provide additional flexibility during the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund, without any penalty,” the carrier said.
TPG has sought additional clarification on the carrier’s refund policy, but it appeared this would offer additional flexibility to customers to cancel their trip while the FAA’s flight restrictions are in place.
Reminder: You are entitled to a refund if your flight is canceled and you choose not to travel
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines issued a travel advisory covering all 40 airports affected by the FAA restrictions. You can find the full list of eligible airports here.
Travelers booked on flights between Nov. 7 and 9 can rebook on a flight departing between now and Nov. 16 without having to pay a difference in fare. If you rebook for a later date, there may be a fare difference.
I expect that advisory could expand if the shutdown drags on.
The airline also said that travelers flying to, from or through one of the affected airports during the affected travel period can cancel and get a refund for their flight. That includes penalty-free cancellations for basic economy tickets.
Related: U.S. government is shut down: Here are the travel impacts
United Airlines
United Airlines issued a travel waiver that covers flights between Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 for flights out of the following airports:
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Travelers whose flights are affected can opt for a United flight departing between six days prior to and six days after their original travel dates.
Alternatively, those travelers can cancel and receive a full refund, the carrier said — consistent with DOT policy.
Additionally, the airline told TPG that any customer who prefers not to travel while these FAA restrictions are in place can cancel and get a refund, even if their flight isn’t affected.
In a letter to employees Wednesday night, United CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier would not cut long-haul international flights or flights from one hub to another.
Read more: Flight delayed or canceled? Here’s what to do next
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines said it would automatically rebook customers whose flights are canceled, in most cases, onto another flight. Customers can also opt to rebook themselves or claim a refund.
Passengers who choose not to travel on their new itinerary must cancel within 10 minutes of the new flight’s scheduled departure time, the airline said.
JetBlue
So far, JetBlue has just said that in most cases, it would automatically re-book affected passengers onto the next available flight.
Passengers whose flights are canceled who opt to instead not to travel can request a refund, under DOT policies.
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines on Thursday said it was launching a flexible travel policy. Any customer traveling during the FAA cutbacks would be eligible to cancel or change their flight, the budget carrier said.
Meanwhile, the airline’s CEO Barry Biffle took to social media on Wednesday evening with a head-turning “practical travel advice.”
“If you are flying Friday or in the next 10 days and need to be there or don’t want to be stranded, I highly recommend booking a backup ticket on another carrier,” Biffle wrote. “I would simply have a backup ticket on another airline. I’m sorry this is happening. Hopefully the shutdown is over soon.”
Frontier operates less-than-daily service on many of its routes — which means that even if travelers get re-booked on the carrier’s next available flight, they may have to wait a day or more to get to their destination.
Important to know
These advisories have been rapidly changing over the course of the day Thursday.
Keep checking back for updates, and if you’re flying in the coming days, watch for any communications from your airline.
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