Winter Storm Gia Wreaks Havoc on Midwest, Prompts New Travel Waivers in Mid-Atlantic

Jan. 12, 2019

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6 min read

Winter Storm Gia Wreaks Havoc on Midwest, Prompts New Travel Waivers in Mid-Atlantic

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More than 110 flights have been canceled, with dozens more delayed at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport. The airport serving the St. Louis metropolitan area has reported upwards of a foot of snow, with up to an additional 6'' inches predicted.

St. Louis is just one of the many US cities impacted by Winter Storm Gia, a powerful system that's brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the Midwest. While the storm should be out of the St. Louis region by late Saturday night, Gia is expected to continue its wrath, taking aim at the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic beginning tonight and lasting through early next week.

While the Midwest received the worst of Winter Storm Gia, the storm is still predicted to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic. Both ground and air travel are expected to be affected by the storm.

The impending winter storm has prompted airlines to issue additional travel advisories and waivers for travelers flying throughout airports throughout the mid-Atlantic this weekend. Nearly every major US airline has issued a travel advisory allowing travelers to change their itinerary without penalties or fees. Here are the current travel advisories and waivers issued by airlines as of 12pm EST Saturday.

Current Travel Advisories and Waivers For Winter Storm Gia

Airline	Cities	Dates Impacted	Must Travel By	Waiver
American Airlines	Champaign / Urbana, Illinois (CMI) Cincinnati, Ohio (CVG) Columbia, Missouri (COU) Dayton, Ohio (DAY) Des Moines, Iowa (DSM) Fort Wayne, Indiana (FWA) Indianapolis, Indiana (IND) Kansas City, Missouri (MCI) Lexington, Kentucky (LEX) Louisville, Kentucky (SDF) Omaha, Nebraska (OMA) Peoria, Illinois (PIA) Springfield, Illinois (SPI) St. Louis, Missouri (STL)	Jan. 11-12, 2019	Jan. 16, 2019	Eligible to change your itinerary without paying the change fee if: Ticket was purchased by Jan. 11 Departure/Arrival Cities Remain the Same You remain in the cabin in which you were originally booked Link
Delta Air Lines	Kansas City, MO (MCI), St. Louis, MO (STL)	Jan. 11-12, 2019	Jan. 15, 2019	Eligible to change your itinerary without paying the change fee if: Ticket was purchased by Jan. 11 Departure/Arrival Cities Remain the Same You remain in the cabin in which you were originally booked Link
Delta Air Lines II	Baltimore, MD (BWI), Charlottesville, VA (CHO), Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Richmond, VA (ROA), Washington, D.C. - Dulles (IAD), Washington, D.C. - Reagan (DCA)	Jan. 13, 2019	Jan. 16, 2019	Eligible to change your itinerary without paying the change fee if: Ticket was purchased by Jan. 12 Departure/Arrival Cities Remain the Same You remain in the cabin in which you were originally booked Link
Frontier	Bloomington, IL (BMI) Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Wichita, KS (ICT) Indianapolis, IN (IND) Kansas City, MO (MCI) Louisville, KY (SDF) St. Louis, MO (STL)	Jan. 11-12, 2019	Jan. 18, 2019	Eligible to make ONE itinerary change without paying fees if: Ticket was purchased and issued by Jan. 11 Link
JetBlue	Baltimore, MD (BWI) Richmond, VA (RIC) Washington, DC (DCA)	Jan. 13, 2019	Jan. 15, 2019	Eligible to change or cancel without paying fees if: Ticket was purchased by Jan. 11 Link
Southwest Airlines I	Denver (DEN) Des Moines (DSM) Kansas City (MCI) Omaha (OMA) St. Louis (STL)	Jan. 11-12, 2019	14 Days from Departure	Eligible to change without paying fees or fare difference if: City pairs remain the same Link
Southwest Airlines II	Baltimore/Washington (BWI) Charlotte (CLT) Cincinnati (CVG) Columbus (CMH) Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) Indianapolis (IND) Louisville (SDF) Raleigh-Durham (RDU) Richmond (RIC) Washington Dulles (IAD) Washington Reagan National (DCA)	Jan. 12-13, 2019	14 Days from Departure	Eligible to change without paying fees or fare difference if: City pairs remain the same Link
United Airlines I	Cape Girardeau, MO (CGI) Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Columbia, MO (COU) Dayton, OH (DAY) Fort Wayne, IN (FWA) Indianapolis, IN (IND) Kansas City, MO (MCI) Lexington, KY (LEX) Louisville, KY (SDF) Peoria, IL (PIA) Quincy, IL (UIN) Springfield, IL (SPI) St. Louis, MO (STL)	Jan. 11-12, 2019	Jan. 15, 2019	Eligible to change itinerary without paying fees or fare difference if: City pairs remain the same Ticketed cabin remains the same Link
United Airlines II	Asheville, NC (AVL) Atlanta, GA (ATL) Baltimore, MD (BWI) Charleston, WV (CRW) Charlotte, NC (CLT) Charlottesville, VA (CHO) Clarksburg, WV (CKB) Greensboro, NC (GSO) Lewisburg, WV (LWB) Richmond, VA (RIC) Roanoke, VA (ROA) Shenandoah Valley, VA (SHD) Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD) Washington-National, DC (DCA)	Jan. 11-13, 2019	Jan. 16, 2019	Eligible to change itinerary without paying fees or fare difference if: City pairs remain the same Ticketed cabin remains the same Link

As always, we recommend that you check with your airline directly prior to heading to the airport. Airlines allow passengers to make changes via phone or online allowing travelers to skip a trip to the airport.

This storm is another reminder to book flights with a card that offers solid trip delay and cancellation insurance. Cards with solid trip protection include the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

Featured image by Image via St. Louis-Lambert International Airport on Facebook

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