by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:44 AM ET, Tue September 11, 2018
As Hurricane Florence continues to build strength and head toward the East Coast, airlines around the United States have started waiving change fees for travelers scheduled to fly in or out of potentially impacted cities.
According to Reuters.com, Florence is a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour and is located around 950 miles southeast of North Carolina as of Tuesday morning.
The National Hurricane Center is warning of a potentially deadly landfall for the massive storm, which has resulted in evacuation orders for more than 1.5 million people along the East Coast. For those not in the storm's direct path, officials are still warning about the residual high winds, heavy rain, and potential flooding.
As for travelers, airlines serving destinations in Florence's projected path have started waiving change fees and are expecting widespread delays and cancellations.
American Airlines has waived change fees for customers flying between September 10 and September 16 to impacted airports as far south as Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Georgia and as far North as Virginia.
Other major carriers in the United States, including Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have similar travel advisories in place, with Southwest even issuing waivers for travelers using airports as far north as Baltimore and Washington D.C.
The largest airlines in the U.S. aren't the only carriers waiving change fees for Florence. Other companies such as Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have all issued special travel advisories. All of the aforementioned carriers have issued a flexible travel policy to accommodate people who may need to change their travel plans.
Regardless of which airline travelers are scheduled to fly with, impacted customers should reach out to their carriers and travel agents to determine the proper course of action over the coming days.
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