Travel Waivers Issued As Major Hurricane Matthew Nears Landfall

Update 10/4/16: United has now added a travel waiver as well.Update 10/4/16: Hurricane Matthew’s projected path is trending closer to Florida than yesterday. The National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane watches for the east coast of Florida. This means hurricane-force winds are expected within the next 48 hours. The major hurricane’s close pass of — or potential landfall on — Florida threatens to disrupt travel plans throughout the state.A few airlines (Delta, JetBlue and Silver) have now issued travel waivers for Florida airports. If you’re planning on traveling through Florida Wednesday-Saturday, check to see if you’re able to change your travel plans. If so, you might want to hurry to do so before alternative options fill up.Here’s an updated map:In case you missed it, one of the strongest hurricanes in a decade is churning in the Caribbean. After exploding to a category 5 (out of 5) hurricane over the weekend, Matthew has made a fateful turn north toward Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. Hurricane warnings have been issued for all four countries, indicating that hurricane-strength winds are expected in the next 24 hours.While the 140 mph top wind speed is getting plenty of attention, the wind cone is rather compact on this hurricane. The biggest impact is likely to be from the torrential rain and coastal flooding. Current models show that the major hurricane could dump a devastating 25 inches of rain on poorly prepared Haiti. Meanwhile, models show a storm surge of 10-15 feet for the Bahamas — with even higher waves battering the coast. There’s little doubt that this is going to be a disastrous storm for the Caribbean.Expected path, strength and warnings for Hurricane Matthew.If you have plans to head to Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas over the next few days, you’re going to want to change them. Thankfully, airlines are making it easy for you to do so. Check below to see if your carrier has issued a travel waiver. If so, you’ll be able to reschedule, change or even cancel your flights with no fees. Click on the airline name for more details about the airline’s current waiver.American AirlinesOriginal travel dates: October 1-4Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Airports covered:Cienfuegos, Cuba (CFG)Holguín, Cuba (HOG)Santa Clara, Cuba (SNU)Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (CAP)Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)Montego Bay, Jamaica (MJB)Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS)Delta Air LinesOriginal travel dates: October 2-6Airports covered:Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)Georgetown, Bahamas (GGT)Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS)JetBlue AirlinesOriginal travel dates: October 2-6Airports covered:Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS)Santa Clara, Cuba (SNU)Silver AirwaysOriginal travel dates: October 4-5Routes covered:Bimini -Fort LauderdaleBimini - MiamiFreeport - Fort LauderdaleGovernors Harbour - Fort LauderdaleGreat Exuma Island - Fort LauderdaleMarsh Harbour - Fort LauderdaleMarsh Harbour - JacksonvilleMarsh Harbour - OrlandoMarsh Harbour - TampaMarsh Harbour - West Palm BeachNassau - Fort MyersNassau - JacksonvilleNassau - TampaNassau - West PalmNorth Eleuthera - Fort LauderdaleNorth Eleuthera - OrlandoTreasure Cay - Fort LauderdaleSouthwest AirlinesOriginal travel dates: allAirports covered: allAs Southwest allows you to cancel your flight up to 10 minutes before scheduled departure, you can cancel and rebook your flights at any time.Spirit AirlinesOriginal travel dates: October 2-3Airports covered:Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)As of publishing, the following airlines haven’t released travel waivers for this storm: Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines, United Airlines