Ian Kar was already at the airport Wednesday morning when he learned his Southwest Airlines flight, which was scheduled to depart Los Angeles to San Francisco at 10:15 a.m. local time, was delayed by an hour.
Kar said he wasn’t notified of the delay by the airline but “found out when I sat down in the waiting area,” he told USA TODAY. He found the lack of communication to be “annoying” and because of the delay, he has had to reschedule some work meetings.
More than 8,609 U.S. flights had been delayed and more than 1,251 others had been canceled by 3:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight status in real-time.
Flights around the country are slowly returning to normal after a Federal Aviation Administration computer outage triggered a massive wave of delays and cancellations Wednesday morning, but that’s little comfort to travelers whose plans have already been wrecked for the day.
Every person whose flight was canceled is entitled to a full refund, according to Department of Transportation guidelines. Several airlines are also offering customers various waivers for rebooking flights, but they need to act quickly.
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Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines tells USA TODAY they’ve had minimal cancellations or delays related to the FAA outage. “We’re working to get our guests to (where) they need to go today as safely and efficiently as possible,” the airline said in a statement, without additional details.
American Airlines
American Airlines hasn’t released specific details either, but tells USA TODAY, “To support our customers whose travel was affected by the FAA system issue, we’re providing additional flexibility to rebook their travel plans today and tomorrow without any additional fees.” Customers are advised to check the airline’s website.
Delta Air Lines
All Delta customers with flights scheduled for Wednesday may rebook their flights for travel no later than Friday, in their original class of service, without having to pay any difference in fares.
If they aren’t able to travel by Friday, customers may cancel their flights for flight credit that can be used for up to a year, but they would then be responsible for any fare differences. Details can be found on Delta’s website.
Southwest Airlines
All customers with flights scheduled for Wednesday may rebook or fly standby within 14 days of their original travel dates without paying any extra fees. Travel is limited to their originally booked cities. Details can be found on Southwest’s website.
United Airlines
Customers who had flights scheduled to or from the following airports Wednesday may rebook flights without paying fees or fare differences, as long as they fly by no later than Monday, through their original cities and in their original class of service. Details can be found on United’s website.
- Boston Logan International (BOS).
- Chicago O’Hare International (ORD).
- Cleveland Hopkins International (CLE).
- Denver International (DEN).
- Antonio B. Won Pat International in Guam (GUM).
- Daniel K. Inouye International in Honolulu (HNL).
- George Bush International in Houston (IAH).
- Los Angeles International (LAX).
- Newark Liberty International (EWR).
- San Francisco International (SFO).
- Washington Dulles International (IAD).
USA TODAY has reached out to every major U.S. airline to see what they’re offering travelers affected by the FAA outage. While not specifically outage-related, travelers can find airlines’ policies around cancellations and disruptions in general on the Transportation Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.