Airlines allow Atlanta travelers to change plans amid winter weather
Ahead of winter weather forecast across parts of metro Atlanta and Middle Georgia, airlines including Delta, United and Southwest are permitting travelers to change their plans early this week.
Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines have issued waivers allowing travelers some flexibility to change their flights to, from and through Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday — as well as many Gulf Coast cities.
United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are also offering waivers for travelers through Atlanta and many other cities in the South between Monday and Wednesday.
The forecast coincides with what are expected to be high-traffic days for airlines after Monday’s college football national championship game.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is warning travelers to plan ahead and arrive 2.5 hours early Tuesday and Wednesday for domestic flights unless airlines say otherwise.
Airport officials say roadway and airfield surfaces will be pretreated ahead of the storm and its emergency operations center will open Tuesday morning.
The game is expected to bring sports fans from across the country. Southwest, United and American Airlines have all added flights to Hartsfield-Jackson from Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio, to support the demand from fans of Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The forecast also comes about 10 days after snow and ice in Atlanta on Jan. 10 prompted more than a thousand of flight cancellations, and, at one point, three-hour long security wait times the morning of Jan. 11. About one-third of TSA’s Atlanta staff did not show up for work that morning as roads remained treacherous and MARTA bus service was still not operational.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Hartsfield-Jackson.
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
