WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Winter weather is expected to wreak havoc on holiday travel over the next few days.
According to the National Weather Service, arctic air and frigid temperatures will move through the country over the next few days. Airlines are already expecting cancellations and issuing advisories to customers.
American Airlines has a travel advisory in place for passengers heading to roughly 30 cities. Delta, Jet Blue and United are all waiving change fees for people flying to certain parts of the country.
“(There was) a lot of traffic coming into the airport, so I am thinking a lot of people changed their flights to today,” said Theresa Wiececak, who was flying out of Reagan International Airport Wednesday.
Luckily for her, she didn’t run into any issues for her flight to New York.
“I knew I was going to beat the storm so I was pretty confident I would be okay,” she said.
“So far so good, we are heading to Atlanta. We haven’t had any delays scheduled now so keeping our fingers crossed,” said Collyn Davis, who also flew out of DCA Wednesday.
Davis said winter weather didn’t affect her flight. But, it is affecting her plans while home in Georgia.
“The biggest change has been the holiday plans. My mom’s birthday is Christmas Eve and we usually start with a 5K, so we are now looking for alternatives,” she said.
Carrie Fletcher had both her flights delayed on her way into D.C.
“We had a mild delay from San Antonio,” she said. “Then we were delayed leaving Dallas as well, so we were bolting from the airport.”
Fletcher is not worried about the incoming weather for the District. But, she is concerned about the frigid temperatures that will hit Texas.
“It’s a huge problem. We had a freeze two years ago that put people out of power. We didn’t have heat and water for up to four days,” she said. “My husband and my father in law are back there so they stocked up on firewood.”