Several U.S. airlines have waived change fees for flights from Friday (September 25) to Sunday as the meteorological department warned of a nor’easter storm set to hit parts of the U.S. East Coast over the weekend, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and the potential for flooding.
According to the weather forecast released earlier this week by the National Weather Service, a coastal storm is forming in the U.S. East Coast region, expected to develop into the first nor’easter of the fall this weekend, bringing with it severe weather conditions such as strong winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding, affecting parts of the U.S. East Coast including New York.
In response to this situation, some airlines have announced waiver of change fees for flights from Friday to Sunday in affected areas, including American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.
These measures cover major airports in the U.S. East Coast, including John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and Logan International Airport in Massachusetts.
United Airlines’ waiver covers 10 airports from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Portland, Maine.
American Airlines is providing similar measures at 16 airports, including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and the three major airports in the New York area.
JetBlue Airways, which has significant operations in New York and Boston, is offering this service to its customers at 11 airports.
Passengers meeting the conditions can change their itineraries without having to pay the usual fare difference or change fee.
As of Friday morning, ahead of the storm’s arrival, there were only a few flight delays in the Northeast region, and cancellations of weekend flights were minimal. According to data from flight tracking website FlightAware, as of around 11 a.m. Eastern Time on September 25, only 169 flights had been canceled for American Airlines.
(Reference: Bloomberg News)