Flight Cancellations Close To 10,000 Through Friday Due To Hurricane Harvey
by Daniel McCarthy
Photo: Shutterstock.com
More than 9,000 flights have been canceled through Friday as Texas continues to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Most of those cancellations (more than 7,000) have come from Houston’s biggest airports—Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which have both been closed since Sunday.
Both airports remain closed through Wednesday. They may reopen on Thursday according to the Federal Aviation Administration but no decision has been made.
Hobby Airport said in a statement that “garages and ecopark lot are not flooded” though there is high water on roads surrounding both airports.
Until conditions improve and weather permits, flights are not operating at the Houston airports. Contact airlines for rescheduling/waivers
— Hobby Airport (@HobbyAirport) August 28, 2017
George Bush International said the same.
Ops still suspended. Water has receded on roads. JFK open; Will Clayton open to McKay; HPD onsite to direct traffic. https://t.co/1mvtirRQ1p
— Houston Bush Airport (@iah) August 30, 2017
Most airlines are still allowing travelers to change their flights without penalty.
United Airlines, which has its major hub at George Bush Intercontinental, has extended its change fee waivers through September 12 for flights in and out of affected airports including flights from New Orleans, San Antonio, Austin and Baton Rouge. Close to 20% of all United flights were cancelled because of the storm.
The other airline most affected by Harvey is Southwest Airlines, which saw close to 10% of all its flights cancelled because of the storm.
On its website, Southwest said six of the airports it operates out of—Houston, New Orleans, Austin, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and San Antonio—are experiencing disruptions.
Because of the disruptions, Southwest is allowing passengers traveling to and from Houston to change their origin or destination without charge to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Corpus Christi International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport or San Antonio International Airport.

