NOAA via AP
This Sept. 10, 2018, GOES East satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Florence as it threatens the U.S. East Coast.
- Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall on Thursday along the coast of North and South Carolina. There is now a mandatory evacuation for coastal areas in the path of the 130 mph storm.
- Airlines are preparing for disruption to air
travel caused by Florence. - American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier Airlines are all offering fee waivers for ticket holders who need to make changes to their reservations.
Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall on Thursday along the coast of North and South Carolina. If current forecasts hold up, Florence could be the most powerful storm to ever make landfall north of Florida. There is now a mandatory evacuation for coastal areas in the path of the storm.
Air travel to and from parts of the Southeastern United States is expected to be severely impacted over the next few days.
Major airports such as Charlotte Douglas International and Raleigh-Durham International look to be in the storm's projected path inland. However, the storm is unlikely to be a hurricane by the time it reaches the two airports.
American has not yet canceled any flights due to the hurricane, an airline spokesperson told Business Insider, but the airline is monitoring to storm as it approaches its fortress hub in Charlotte.
Delta Air Lines 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.
American Airlines has not formally capped prices, but the spokesman did tell us that its team is "closely monitoring fares in markets that will be impacted by these storms."
In addition, Almost all major airlines operating in the region including American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier have all issued fee waivers for ticket holders who need to make changes to their reservations.
According to the National Weather Service, the storms currently boasts sustained winds of 130 mph as a Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane force winds have been recorded as far as 60 miles away from the eye of the storm while tropical storm for winds can be found as far as 170 miles away. The NWS also expects "life-threatening storm surge along the coast" and up to 30 inches of rainfall in some parts.
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 Frontier's travel waiver information.
Click here for Spirit's travel waiver information.