Inclement weather over the winter holidays has forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights. However, in welcome news, Delta Air Lines has announced that it will provide travel waivers for some customers whose flights were canceled.
The waivers only apply for flights to and from three cities: Detroit, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. The airline will waive any price difference between the original flights and rebooked flights.
Delta has created slightly different qualifications for waivers related to each city. Additionally, waivers will only be applicable for passengers who rebook seats in the same cabin as their earlier flight.
Detroit waivers will apply starting Jan. 1, 2022. Only flights that take off by Jan. 4, 2022, will be eligible for waiver usage.
Seattle waivers apply for flights canceled between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, 2022. They can only be used for rebooked flights that occur by Jan. 6, 2022.
Waivers for Salt Lake City flights go into effect on Dec. 30. They’ll only apply to travel occurring by Jan. 3, 2022.
The waiver policies are subject to change depending on anticipated weather issues. Delta’s Operation and Customer Center’s meteorology team regularly monitors weather forecasts, allowing the airline to adjust waiver policies as often as necessary.
Passengers can stay updated about their flight status by visiting Delta’s website or mobile app. They can also sign up for mobile or email updates.
Weather-related flight cancellations are unsurprising during the winter, but the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the problems they cause. U.S. airlines, including Delta, have had to cancel thousands of flights since the arrival of COVID-19.
All U.S. airlines have seen staffing shortages of varying levels of severity because of required COVID-19 quarantines among employees.