Science
National Weather Service
A satellite image of Hurricane Florence at 7.47 a.m. on Wednesday as it approached the east coast.
- Hurricane Florence has triggered more than 1,000 flight cancellations and the closure of roughly a dozen airports in the Carolinas and Virginia.
- Delta and JetBlue have capped prices for flights in the affected areas while American and United have made available reduced prices flights for evacuees.
- American, Delta, United, and Southwest have also waived their in-cabin pet fees.
- Nearly all major US carriers operating to areas affected by the storm have offered fee waivers for passengers.
Hurricane Florence has triggered more than 1,000 flight cancellations and the closure of nearly a dozen airports in North and South Carolina.
American Airlines, the carrier with the largest operation in the Carolinas, announced that it has canceled more than 700 flights through Sunday.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it has canceled 85 flights ahead of the storm.
Southwest announced that it has canceled all flights into and out of Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina as well as Richmond and Norfolk in Virginia from Thursday until Saturday morning.
Airports along the eastern seaboard are also expected to shut down ahead of the storm. According to American, the following airports in North Carolina will be closed until Saturday; Greenville, Jacksonville, New Bern, and Wilmington. Raleigh-Durham is expected to experience "scattered cancellations" through Friday while operations at Charlotte-Douglas International are not impacted as for Wednesday evening.
In South Carolina, airports in Myrtle Beach, Columbia, and Florence are closed through Saturday. Charleston's airport is expected to be closed through Friday.
In Virginia, the airport in Hampton/Newport News is expected to be closed through Friday.
Delta announced on Monday that it is preemptively capping prices for select coastal and inland airports from Savannah, Georgia all the way north to Richmond, Virginia.
On Tuesday, JetBlue announced that it will also cap its fares on seats to and from select areas affected by the hurricane.
"To assist the affected communities, JetBlue has capped fares on new bookings at $149 for remaining seats to/from Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Richmond through Sunday, September 16," a spokesperson for the New York-based carrier told Business Insider in an email.
American and United both announced they are making last-minute reduced prices fares available to those who need to evacuate by air.
Delta has made available an additional 1,200 seats on routes operating in the path of the Hurricane via additional flights and the use of larger aircraft.
In addition, almost all major airlines operating in the region including American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier have all issued fee waivers for ticket holders who need to make changes to their reservations.
American, Delta, and United have also waived baggage and pet-in-cabin fees for evacuees. Southwest also waived its pet fees for the select airports in the region.
On Thursday, Florence weakened slightly to a Category 2 hurricane, but still boasts sustained winds of 105 mph with gusts reaching even higher speeds. In addition, the storm is expected to cause a storm surge of nine to 13 feet along the Outerbanks of North Carolina.
Click here for United's travel waiver information.
Click here for American's travel waiver information.
Click here for Delta's travel waiver information.
Click here for JetBlue's travel waiver information.
Click here for Southwest's travel waiver information.
Click here for Frontier's travel waiver information.
Click here for Spirit's travel waiver information.