Expect big crowds for the summer travel season
The unofficial start of the summer travel season is here, with airlines hoping to avoid last year's chaos and travelers looking for ways to save a few bucks on expensive airfares and hotel rooms. (May 25)
AP
More than 1,600 flights in the US have been canceled and nearly 5,800 more delayed as of 5:00 p.m. ET Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
Strong weather moving into the Northeast, especially around New York, appears to be behind most of the issues.
The Federal Aviation Administration warned that flights in the New York metro area could be a little more chaotic this summer with fewer air traffic controllers available to handle flights than needed. As a result, airlines have been proactively asked to reduce their routes in an attempt to reduce pressure on the system.
Even when summer storms hit, flights are often delayed. This leaves planes out of position and the lack of a controller could contribute to longer recovery times.
Several airlines have issued waivers for passengers in the affected cities to rebook their itineraries.
Check their websites for more details.
- American Airlines
- Delta Air Lines does not currently offer weather waivers.
- united airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- JetBlue does not currently offer weather waivers.
- Spirit Airlines does not currently offer weather waivers.
- Frontier Airlines does not currently offer weather waivers.
If you're traveling this summer and want to avoid similar headaches, it's a good idea to consider some of the guidelines below when booking your tickets:
- Travel early. Delays and cancellations tend to accumulate throughout the day, so morning flights are usually less likely to be affected.
- Avoid the links if you can. The fewer flights you have to make, the less likely you are to run into problems.
- Consider purchasing travel insurance. If something goes wrong, travel insurance can help you recover costs if you need to rebook or spend the night somewhere unexpected.
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If your flight is canceled for any reason, you are entitled to a full refund if you choose not to travel on an alternative route offered to you, even if you originally booked a non-refundable ticket.
Delays, however, can get a little more complicated. Weather-related delays are often not covered by airline compensation policies because they are usually considered outside of the carrier's control. This is why the flexibility afforded by derogations is especially important when bad weather prevails. But the Department of Transportation has one dashboard which describes the situations in which delayed passengers can be compensated by most airlines and what they are entitled to.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. He can be reached at zwichter@usatoday.com
