More than 1,600 flights canceled Monday as Tropical Storm Beryl hits US
Flight cancellations are piling up as Hurricane Beryl menaces the Texas Gulf Coast. Airlines have canceled more than 1,600 flights Monday as the storm has brought heavy rain and high winds to the U.S., fueling dangerous conditions and hampering travel in parts of the country.
Coastal cities in Texas have felt the brunt of the storm Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center, after Beryl made landfall overnight as a Category 1 hurricane.
These disruptions come a day after the busiest day ever at U.S. airports. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Agency eclipsed more than three million passengers screened for the first time in its history, as travelers made their way home following the Fourth of July.
Cancellations highest in Houston
Monday's flight disruptions are most heavily concentrated at Houston's two major airports.
90% of departures have been scrapped for Monday at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), with nearly 600 cancellations and counting as of 4:30 p.m. EDT, according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Leading into Monday, the airport had taken to social media to warn travelers of the impending disruptions. The airport said it was working to "streamline operations" in the midst of the storm. United Airlines flights are operating out of the airport's Terminal C Monday, with Terminal B temporarily closed. The TSA checkpoint at Terminal D is operating at reduced capacity, too, the airport said.
Images shared Monday afternoon showed a downed tree, at one point, cutting off access on one road near the airport.
United Airlines, which operates a major hub out of Houston's Intercontinental, leads all U.S. airlines with close to 500 cancellations for Monday, about 16% of its operation, FlightAware data shows.
Southwest Airlines is second with more than 340 cancellations, network-wide — about 7% of its Monday schedule. Southwest is the top carrier at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), where around 80% of departures have been canceled for Monday.
Help! Here's what to do if your flight is canceled or delayed
Airlines offer flexibility
Several airlines have issued travel alerts amid the storm. These advisories typically allow customers extra flexibility when flying to, from or between certain affected cities. This could help travelers make itinerary changes even when flying on the most restrictive tickets. Notably, both United and Southwest have issued alerts for key airports in Texas, including Houston's two major airports as well as Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and San Antonio International Airport (SAT).
Beryl's flight disruptions in the U.S. come after the storm left a trail of destruction in parts of the Caribbean and Latin America. The storm caused significant damage in Jamaica, before hitting Mexico, causing major flight cancellations over the weekend at Cancun International Airport (CUN) and Tulum's new Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport (TQO) — but the region was spared from more catastrophic impacts, according to reports there.
Monday's disruptions in the U.S. follow more than 600 cancellations Sunday, on the same day the TSA screened its record 3.01 million passengers, beating its all-time single-day record set in late June.
Planning ahead
If you have travel plans for Monday, be sure to heed the warnings from the National Weather Service and local authorities, first and foremost, when deciding whether to head to an airport or travel to a potentially affected area.
Download your airline's app and monitor it closely for potential signs of trouble, and options for rebooking in the event your itinerary is affected.
Read up on your rights as a flyer, too. Keep in mind, under U.S. Department of Transportation policy, you're entitled to a refund for the unused portion of your trip if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed for any reason — though that only applies if you ultimately choose not to fly, and don't accept rebooking from the airline.
If you do run into travel disruptions due to the storm, consider whether you have a travel insurance plan or trip insurance protections through a credit card that might help you recoup any incurred costs. Typically, any insurance plans must have been purchased prior to the storm being named in order to be claim-eligible. And, most often, if you have travel insurance through a credit card, you'll need to have booked the trip with that card in order to be eligible for the protections.
Meanwhile, you may also want to plan ahead if your plans call for a flight on Tuesday. Airlines have already close to 100 flights in the U.S. for July 9, including at least dozens out of Houston's Intercontinental.
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