Ahead of this weekend’s forecasted winter storm, many major airlines are already making it easier for travelers to adjust their plans.
Carriers like American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United are dropping change fees for flights in and out of impacted airports — meaning you may be able to rebook without paying extra. The key is to check your airline’s specific travel waiver online.
How RDU prepares for an ice storm
At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, crews were loading up de-icer, prepared to roll out a 4,000-gallon capacity truck with a 75-foot broom wingspan to spray down plane wings to keep them air-safe.
They coated runways on Friday to prevent rain from freezing.
The processes are similar to those used to protect highways before a storm. Instead of liquid brine and solid salt pellets, the airport uses a different mix.
“We have to use stuff that’s less corrosive for the runways and the taxiways because of course we can’t have potholes or anything form on them,” an airport spokesman said.
It was a process familiar from months of practice.
About once a week, the airport assembles a team to do a “dry run,” rehearsal to make sure people and equipment are ready to go when a severe weather event calls them into service.
“We go out there, we take all of our snow trucks and our material out there and we practice just like it was a snowstorm. We practice all that just to make sure the equipment is operating right and all our staff knows just what to do,” an airport spokesman said.
After the freezing rain begins, snowblowers and two large plows will be put into action in an attempt to keep runways clear.
Crews will work 12-hour shifts.
“We go from one runway — our main runway to the next one. We pride ourselves for always keeping at least one of the commercial runways open so planes can continually fly out of RDU,” the spokesman said Friday. “Once we will clear one, we will move to the other side and work on clearing that one.”
If your flight is delayed or canceled
Under federal law, if your flight is canceled and you choose not to rebook, you are entitled to a full refund even on non-refundable tickets. That refund must go back automatically to your original form of payment, not a voucher. That also includes any add-ons you paid for like seat upgrades or Wi-Fi.
Beyond refunds, airlines aren’t required to provide hotels or meals if the disruption is weather related, but you can always ask.
If you’ve booked a room, many hotels allow for cancellations 48 hours or 72 hours ahead of time. Things are much more case-by-case with Vrbo and Airbnb. Airbnb, for example, considers winter weather this time of year in North Carolina as a foreseeable event; however, it’s Major Disruptive Events Policy kicks in when there are major disruptions like power outages.
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