Major U.S. carriers, including Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines, are issuing travel waivers as winter weather continues to hamper travel in Seattle and parts of the Pacific Northwest this week.
"Due to forecasted winter weather in Seattle, Delta has issued a travel waiver for those who may be impacted-effective December 25-31, 2021. With this, the fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before January 2, 2022, in the same cabin of service as originally booked," the airline said in an updated post on Tuesday morning.
Delta is encouraging customers to check their flight status prior to arriving at the airport at Delta.com or via the Fly Delta Mobile App.
Alaska Airlines also blamed snow and freezing weather for recent disruptions at its largest hub, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The carrier canceled 214 mainline and regional flights on Monday and warned that more flights could be canceled throughout the next several days.
"We're deeply sorry to our guests for the delay in their holiday travel plans and are working hard to reposition aircraft and crews back to the West Coast to get everyone where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible," the airline's COO and Executive Vice President Constance von Muehlen said in a statement.
Alaska customers who want to change their flights can take advantage of the airline's flexible travel policy, which is in place for travel through January 2, 2022. However, the airline notes that its reservations team is experiencing hold times of up to 11 hours. "The quickest way to reschedule or change your ticket is online at alaskaair.com or Alaska's mobile app." Impacted passengers may also be eligible for reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses. However, requests can take up to several weeks to review and process.
The travel waivers arrive as worldwide flight cancellations surpassed the 8,000 mark on Monday due to the emergence of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant, which has resulted in staff shortages during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
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