Travelers across the US have been put on high alert as major airlines issued warnings and announced possible flight cancellations ahead of Winter Storm Fern.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines, four of the nation’s largest carriers, all warned passengers to expect major disruptions as the storm moves from the central US into the Northeast.
The storm, expected to begin Friday and last through Monday, is forecast to drop a foot or more of snow and catastrophic amounts of ice along its 1,500-mile path from Texas to the Northeast.
Delta said cancellations will be necessary at select airports in North Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee to ensure the safety of customers and staff, and that travelers will be automatically rebooked to the next best itinerary.
American Airlines issued a travel alert covering 34 airports and warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations through the weekend.
JetBlue issued a waiver for travel between Saturday and Monday, including key cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Providence.
Southwest Airlines also warned that rebooking may take extra time due to the scale of disruptions and that passengers should expect delays as the airline works to secure new itineraries.
Airlines have already scrapped more than 1,300 flights scheduled for Saturday as the storm moved across the US, bringing heavy snow, sleet and plunging temperatures. Flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that more than 400 flights were canceled on Friday, and 1,325 were removed from Saturday’s schedule.
Major US airlines are warning travelers to prepare for mass flight cancelations and delays (STOCK)
The winter storm is set to start on Friday and linger into Monday, covering a large swath of the US
Travel booking app Hopper estimates that upwards of 15,000 flights could be delayed due to the storm.
The National Weather Service has warned that the mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow could make travel dangerous and lead to power outages and tree damage in parts of the Southeast, while heavier snow is expected farther north.
The winter storm is expected to bring cold temperatures not seen since 2021, according to AccuWeather.
The worst impacts were in the Dallas area, where Dallas Fort Worth International Airport saw about 900 cancellations and Dallas Love Field had 139 canceled flights, each representing roughly half of the day’s departures.
JetBlue said it will waive change and cancellation fees, as well as fare differences, for customers traveling Saturday through Monday, to or from Boston, Hartford, Long Island/Islip, Manchester, New York JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Westchester County, and Worcester.
JetBlue customers may rebook online through the ‘manage trips’ section of jetblue.com for travel through Saturday, January 31, 2026, as long as changes are made before the departure time of the originally scheduled flight.
Southwest’s waiver covers passengers traveling to, from, or through impacted cities from Friday through Monday, allowing rebooking or standby travel within 14 days of the original travel date without paying a change in airfare.
The airline said customers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed may be eligible for a refund for the unused ticket, even if the ticket was nonrefundable, and for optional travel charges such as EarlyBird Check-In or Upgraded Boarding.
Airlines have already scrapped more than 1,300 flights scheduled for Saturday as the storm moved across the US, bringing heavy snow, sleet and plunging temperatures (STOCK)
Southwest customers who booked via Southwest.com or the mobile app may reschedule online, while vacation package travelers must call Southwest’s dedicated Getaways line.
Delta’s travel waivers and American’s winter storm alert span a wide swath of the country, covering more than 70 airports from the central US to the Northeast.
In the Southeast and southern Plains, the affected cities include Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Huntsville, Knoxville and Raleigh/Durham, as well as major Texas hubs such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas Love Field, Austin, Houston Intercontinental, Houston Hobby, San Antonio and Lubbock.
The list also reaches into Louisiana and Arkansas with airports in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe, Shreveport, Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas/Bentonville, and extends through Oklahoma and Kansas with Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita.
In the Midwest and Ohio Valley, airports affected include Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Louisville, Lexington and St Louis, along with Kansas City.
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are also in the storm’s crosshairs, with airports from Boston, New York JFK, LaGuardia and Newark to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington Reagan, Washington Dulles and Richmond, as well as regional airports in Albany, Allentown, Bangor, Binghamton, Burlington, Hartford, Harrisburg, Ithaca, Rochester, Syracuse, Providence, Portland (Maine), Worcester and White Plains.
Additional airports covered under the warnings include Charleston, South Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Greensboro/High Point; Greenville/Spartanburg; Asheville; Myrtle Beach; Jacksonville, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charlottesville; Roanoke; Norfolk; and the Tri-Cities region of Tennessee.
The advisories also include several smaller Midwest and southern airports such as Fayetteville, Arkansas; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Columbus, Georgia; Columbus, Mississippi; Jackson, Mississippi; Montgomery, Alabama; and Springfield/Branson, Missouri, plus cross-border coverage at Montreal and Toronto in Canada.
Meteorologists predict much of the US will see over a foot of snow
Southwest adds additional airports not previously listed in other airlines’ alerts, including Amarillo, Buffalo, Kansas City, Little Rock, Midland/Odessa, Myrtle Beach, Rochester, San Antonio, St Louis, and Wichita, among others, all of which fall under the airline’s waiver from Friday through Monday.
Delta further announced that it is shifting staffing resources to support operations at key airports, sending experts from cold-weather hubs to assist deicing and baggage teams in cities including Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Knoxville and Nashville.
The airline also noted that passengers who experience significant delays may be eligible for refunds under certain conditions, including delays of three hours or more on domestic itineraries.
American reiterated that it will waive change fees for affected flights and advised travelers to check their flight status and prepare for significant operational impacts as the storm moves through the country.
The potential for disruptions is particularly concerning because the storm is expected to hit some of the country’s busiest travel corridors at a time when many passengers are planning weekend travel.
Experts said freezing rain and ice can be especially disruptive because they can quickly coat aircraft and runways, forcing airlines to delay departures while crews deice planes and clear surfaces.
Travelers are being urged to monitor their flights and prepare for the possibility of extended delays or cancellations.
