- Major airlines said they were waiving change fees due to Hurricane Milton’s impact on Florida.
- United, American, Delta, and Southwest said certain travelers can rebook without fees.
- The airlines also said they were capping airfares as thousands try to leave Florida.
As the travel industry prepares for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, major airlines are offering to waive cancellation fees for travelers whose plans could be impacted.
Four of the biggest airlines — United, American Airlines, Delta, and Southwest — said they are offering passengers options to cancel or reschedule their flights without penalty.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department was monitoring areas impacted by Milton for airline price gouging, with several airlines also saying they were capping airfares.
Here’s what each airline is offering. All of the airlines said travelers can make changes to their trips online, either through their websites or apps.
United
United said customers who had flights scheduled to or from nine Florida airports, including Tampa, Orlando, and Miami, on October 7 to 12 could reschedule their trip and that the airline would waive any change fee or fare difference. The new rebooked flight must be before October 20.
United also said in a statement to Business Insider that it added flights Monday and Tuesday this week to service additional customers. As of Tuesday afternoon, the airline said all of its flights out of Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Sarasota were full for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. United also said it capped prices for Florida fights on Sunday.
American Airlines
American scheduled additional flights out of Florida this week.
The airline said it was waiving change fees for customers who were scheduled to fly through 12 Florida airports from October 8 through 10. Passengers must reschedule their flights for before October 18, and the flight needs to be rebooked by October 10.
American said it capped fares for flights leaving out of all the airports included in its travel alert.
Delta
Delta said it was waiving fare differences for passengers who planned to travel through nine Florida airports from October 7 to 10. The airline said the flights need to be rebooked by October 15.
The airline said if passengers cannot reschedule, they can cancel the reservation and will get a credit for the amount of the fare that can be used up to one year from the initial ticket being issued.
Delta also said it has capped fares for the impacted airports.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest said passengers scheduled to fly through 13 Florida airports from October 8 to 12 can rebook or travel standby within 14 days of the original ticket without paying any additional fees.
The airline also said customers whose flights get canceled or who choose not to travel because of a major delay could request a refund. Customers can also cancel and apply the amount toward a ticket at a later date.
