Hurricane Irma: Airline Information For Rebooking, Canceling Impacted Flights

As Hurricane Irma continues its approach towards Florida it has weakened to a Category 3 storm but authorities say residents in the path of the storm are not at all in the clear and Irma is expected to bring life-threatening conditions.

Air travel has been heavily affected by Irma and ahead of the storm, airlines were helping residents evacuate. Most major airlines announced waiver information for impacted customers, some much in advance of the storm so travelers can either be refunded or reschedule their flights.

Below is information from major airlines on waiver information, what areas they effect and who is eligible for the waiver. Scroll down to find your airline and if you have any doubts or questions be sure to visit the airline website directly for information.

Delta Airlines:

Affected Cities (Flying To/From):

Albany, GA (ABY)
Atlanta, GA (ATL)
Augusta, GA (AGS)
Brunswick, GA (BQK)
Charleston, SC (CHS)
Columbus, GA (CSG)
Daytona Beach, FL (DAB)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, FL (FLL)
Fort Myers, FL (RSW)
Fort Walton Beach, FL (VPS)
Freeport, BS (FPO)
Gainesville, FL (GNV)
Georgetown, BS (GGT)
Havana, CU (HAV)
Jacksonville, FL (JAX)
Key West, FL (EYW)
Marsh Harbour, BS (MHH)
Melbourne, FL (MLB)
Miami, FL (MIA)
Nassau, BS (NAS)
Orlando, FL (MCO)
Panama City, FL (ECP)
Pensacola, FL (PNS)
Punta Cana, DO (PUJ)
Sarasota/Bradenton, FL (SRQ)
Savannah, GA (SAV)
San Juan, PR (SJU)
Santiago, DO (STI)
St. Croix, VI (STX)
Tallahassee, FL (TLH)
Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater, FL (TPA)
Valdosta, GA (VLD)
West Palm Beach, FL (PBI)

Impacted travel dates:

Sept. 5-17, 2017

Rescheduled travel should occur no later than:

Sept. 30, 2017 (If rescheduled travel occurs after this date, the change fee will be waived however a difference in fare may apply.)

Delta says anyone wishing to cancel a trip can do so and is entitled to a refund for the unused portion of the trip if the flight is canceled or there is a significant delay of 90 minutes or more. If customers are not able to reschedule travel by Sept. 30, they cancel the reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance.

For more on Delta's guidelines, see their waiver information page.

American Airlines:

Affected Cities (Flying To/From):

Florida:

• Daytona Beach, Florida (DAB)
• Destin / Fort Walton Beach, Florida (VPS)
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL)
• Fort Myers, Florida (RSW)
• Gainesville, Florida (GNV)
• Jacksonville, Florida (JAX)
• Key West, Florida (EYW)
• Melbourne, Florida (MLB)
• Miami, Florida (MIA)
• Orlando, FL (MCO)
• Palm Beach, Florida (PBI)
• Pensacola, Florida (PNS)
• Tallahassee, Florida (TLH)
• Tampa, Florida (TPA)
• Sarasota, Florida (SRQ)

American Airlines has the following conditions under which the change fee may be waived if you:

• Are traveling on an American Airlines flight
• Bought your ticket by September 5, 2017
• Are scheduled to travel September 5 - 17, 2017
• Can travel September 5 - 30, 2017
• Change your origin or destination city within 600 miles
• Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference

Southeast:

• Charleston, South Carolina (CHS)
• Hilton Head, South Carolina (HHH)
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (MYR)
• Savannah, Georgia (SAV)

American Airlines has the following conditions under which the change fee may be waived if you:

• Are traveling on an American Airlines flight
• Bought your ticket by September 6, 2017
• Are scheduled to travel September 6 - 17, 2017
• Can travel September 6 - 30, 2017
• Change your origin or destination city within 600 miles
• Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference

Inland:

• Asheville, North Carolina (AVL)
• Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)
• Augusta, Georgia (AGS)
• Birmingham, Alabama (BHM)
• Greenville / Spartanburg, South Carolina (GSP)
• Huntsville, Alabama (HSV)
• Montgomery, Alabama (MGM)

American Airlines has the following conditions under which the change fee may be waived if you:

• Are traveling on an American Airlines flight
• Bought your ticket by September 8, 2017
• Are scheduled to travel September 10 - 12, 2017
• Can travel September 8 - 14, 2017
• Don't change your origin or destination city
• Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference

Bahamas:

• Exuma, Bahamas (GGT)
• Freeport, Bahamas (FPO)
• Marsh Harbour, Bahamas (MHH)
• Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
• North Eleuthera, Bahamas (ELH)
• San Salvador, Bahamas (ZSA)

American Airlines has the following conditions under which the change fee may be waived if you:

• Are traveling on an American Airlines flight
• Bought your ticket by September 5, 2017
• Are scheduled to travel September 5 - 12, 2017
• Can travel September 5 - 30, 2017
• Don't change your origin or destination city
• Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference

Click here to see if your trip is eligible to be changed or canceled.

United Airlines:

Southeast:

• Asheville, NC (AVL)
• Atlanta, GA (ATL)
• Birmingham, AL (BHM)
• Charleston, SC (CHS)
• Chattanooga, TN (CHA)
• Columbia, SC (CAE)
• Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)
• Huntsville, AL (HSV)
• Knoxville, TN (TYS)
• Savannah, GA (SAV)

Original travel dates: September 5, 2017 - September 17, 2017

United offers the below waiver conditions: The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new United flights departing on or before September 30, 2017, as long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed.

Florida:

• Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
• Ft. Myers, FL (RSW)
• Ft. Walton Beach, FL (VPS)
• Jacksonville, FL (JAX)
• Miami, FL (MIA)
• Orlando, FL (MCO)
• Panama City, FL (ECP)
• Pensacola, FL (PNS)
• Tampa, FL (TPA)
• West Palm Beach, FL (PBI)

Leeward Islands:

• Antigua, AG (ANU)
• Nassau, BS (NAS)
• Providenciales, TC (PLS)
• St. Thomas, VI (STT)
• St. Maarten, SX (SXM)

Original travel dates: September 5, 2017 - September 30, 2017

United offers the following waiver conditions:

• The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new United flights departing between September 5, 2017, and November 15, 2017 as long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed.
• For wholly rescheduled travel departing after November 15, 2017, or for a change in departure or destination city, the change fee will be waived, but a difference in fare may apply. Rescheduled travel must be completed within one year from the date when the ticket was issued.

Cuba/Dominican Republic

• Havana, CU (HAV)
• Puerto Plata, DO (POP)
• Punta Cana, DO (PUJ)
• Santiago, DO (STI)
• Santo Domingo, DO (SDQ)

Original travel dates: September 5, 2017 - September 10, 2017

United offers the following conditions: The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new United flights departing on or before September 15, 2017, as long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed.

Click here to see the specifics of United's policy.

Southwest:

Customers who have tickets for the following dates and want to alter their travel plans may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city-pairs and in accordance with the airline's accommodation procedures) without paying any additional charge:

• Atlanta (ATL) - effective Friday, September 8, thru Sunday, September 17
• Birmingham (BHM) - effective Friday, September 8, thru Sunday, September 17
• Charleston (CHS) - effective Thursday, September 7, thru Sunday, September 17
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Fort Myers (RSW) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Havana (HAV) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Jacksonville (JAX) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Nassau (NAS) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Orlando (MCO) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Panama City Beach (ECP) - effective Saturday, September 9, thru Sunday, September 17
• Pensacola (PNS) - effective Saturday, September 9, thru Sunday, September 17
• Punta Cana (PUJ) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• San Juan (SJU) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• Tampa (TPA) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17
• West Palm Beach (PBI) - effective Tuesday, September 5, thru Sunday, September 17

You can see the specific details of Southwest's waiver options and information on rebooking on their website.

All information was provided by the airlines and is subject to change. Patch recommends visiting the airline website directly for the most up to date information and if customers have any questions or concerns.

Photo: Travelers line up at the American Airlines counter at Miami International Airport, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 in Miami. Hurricane Irma scraped Cuba's northern coast Friday on a course toward Florida, leaving in its wake a ravaged string of Caribbean resort islands strewn with splintered lumber, corrugated metal and broken concrete. Photo by Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press