If you turned on the news lately, then you know there’s a massive storm about to wreak havoc on travelers. According to AccuWeather: “Governors across more than a dozen states from the South to the Mid-Atlantic have issued states of emergencies or preparedness ahead of the greatest impacts from what is expected to be the largest winter storm of the season.”
Airlines are already canceling hundreds of flights. As of Friday, January 23 there’s over 618 canceled flights and they’ve already canceled over 2,700 for tomorrow (Saturday, January 24) with Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville and Oklahoma City leading the top five cities. Sunday, has even more and it’s still two days away.
Airline Travel Waivers
I always monitor the weather before and during when I travel. If there’s a huge storm coming, I check with the airline to see if they’ve adjusted their change policies so I can rebook without a penalty and fly when there won’t be any hassles. Here’s a list of airline policies: Air Canada | Alaska | American Airlines | Delta | Frontier | Hawaiian | JetBlue | Southwest | United | WestJet | Every Airline Website and Phone Number
In my opinion, United Airlines is the most proactive and generous airlines when it comes to waivers. Below is what they’re offering their customers right now:
Chicago Extreme Cold Temperatures
Original travel dates: January 23, 2026 – January 24, 2026
Airport: Chicago, IL, US (ORD)
Flight options: You can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences. But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between January 22, 2026 and January 28, 2026. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.
Eastern U.S. Winter Weather
Original travel dates: January 24, 2026 – January 26, 2026
Airports affected: Allentown (ABE), Asheville (AVL), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AVP), Hartford (BDL), Boston (BOS), Baltimore (BWI), Columbia, SC (CAE), Charlottesville (CHO), Charlotte (CLT), Columbus (CMH), Charleston, WV (CRW), Cincinnati (CVG), Dayton (DAY), Washington, DC (DCA and IAD), Newark/New York (EWR), Greensboro/High Point (GSO), Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP), Wilmington, NC (ILM), Johnstown (JST), Lexington (LEX), New York (LGA), Harrisburg (MDT), Morgantown (MGW), Myrtle Beach (MYR), Norfolk (ORF), Philadelphia (PHL), Pittsburgh (PIT), Providence (PVD), Raleigh/Durham (RDU), Richmond (RIC), Roanoke (ROA), State College (SCE), Louisville (SDF), and Knoxville (TYS).
Flight options: You can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences. But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between January 21, 2026 and January 28, 2026. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.
Southern U.S. Winter Weather
Original travel dates: January 23, 2026 – January 25, 2026
Airports affected: Amarillo (AMA), Austin (AUS), Birmingham (BHM), Nashville (BNA), Chattanooga (CHA), Dodge City (DDC), Dallas (all airports), Hobbs (HOB), Huntsville (HSV), Hays (HYS), Houston (IAH), Wichita (ICT), Jackson, MS (JAN), Joplin (JLN), Lubbock (LBB), Liberal (LBL), Little Rock (LIT), Midland (MAF), Memphis (MEM), Oklahoma City (OKC), San Antonio (SAT), Springfield, MO (SGF), Shreveport (SHV), Salina (SLN), Tulsa (TUL), and Bentonville (XNA).
Flight options: You can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences. But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between January 21, 2026 and January 29, 2026. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.
As you can see, it’s going to be a mess out there. Yesterday, I attended a conference (IMM) in New York City. Attendees flew in from around the world, and when those who told me they were going home on Sunday mentioned their plans, I replied that I highly doubted it. If the meteorologists are right, very few flights will be departing or arriving on Sunday, especially in the afternoon and evening.
My expert advice is that if you want to go home, you should change your flight to Friday (today) or Saturday. If you can’t, then take advantage of the waivers and book a flight on Monday, or better yet Tuesday, so you don’t have to deal with rolling delays and can secure a seat now.
Fortunately, it’s not a holiday weekend, so flights won’t be as busy as they could be. However, 2,235,021 people still passed through U.S. security checkpoints yesterday, so it’s still a significant number. I was one of those 2,235,021 since I didn’t want to be stuck, and I missed my kids, so I booked a new ticket using miles because American Airlines (AA) wouldn’t let me change my flight for free. I was scheduled to leave today, and their waiver doesn’t begin until tomorrow.
I’m glad I left. I took the last flight to LAX at 9 p.m., got upgraded to business class, and slept in my own bed. What’s interesting is that I’ve flown New York to L.A. over 100 times, and last night was the longest flight time I’ve ever had, according to both me and one of the flight attendants I spoke with. The headwinds were so strong that it took six hours and 24 minutes in the air, not gate to gate. I could’ve flown to London or Paris.
Download your airline’s app
No matter when you fly but especially during storms you will want to download your airline’s app. This should avoid having to call the airline and being stuck on hold for hours. Pretty much everything can be done with just a few taps, including switching to another flight free of charge.
If you are going to be stuck, then make sure you stock up on food, water, gas (for your car) and supplies like flashlights and portable chargers. I have a Jackery so if our power goes out (or when I go camping) I can charge our devices.
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