Katrina Disrupts Air Travel Across Country

August 30, 2005

Katrina Disrupts Air Travel Across Country
August 30, 2005 – Air travel across the nation is feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Many travelers can expect delays and cancellations for the next several days as flights are rerouted to avoid its path. As the hurricane moves north, major cities such as Louisville, Ky., Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, N.Y., and Toronto are all expected to experience delays.

According to reports, travel experts expect about 60 percent of flights to arrive on time in the next few days, compared to the usual 70 to 80 percent.

The Federal Aviation Administration said airports were closed in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.; Biloxi, Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; Pensacola, Fla. and at Eglin Air Force Base in Fla. Airlines moved their equipment away from the stricken areas and canceled all flights, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Many air traffic control facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were closed.

United Airlines canceled all 63 flights scheduled through midday Tuesday into the area affected by the hurricane, with more expected later as the storm moves north. The airline has revised its ticketing policies for its customers with travel plans to and from New Orleans, La. These policies apply to all customers ticketed on or before Aug. 25, for travel on Aug. 25 through Sept 3, to or from New Orleans on any United®, United Express®, TedSM or United codeshare flight.

United previously announced revised ticketing policies for its customers with travel plans to and from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Myers, Fla., likely to be affected by the hurricane. These policies apply to all customers ticketed on or before Aug. 25, for travel on Aug. 25 – 29, to or from these cities on any United®, United Express®, TedSM or United codeshare flight.

Customers with unused tickets for travel within this time period may also reschedule their travel between the same origin and destination without a change fee. Rescheduled travel for the same itinerary must meet the same rule and booking code restrictions in order to guarantee the original fare. Rescheduled travel on flights and/or dates that do not meet the original restrictions may be subject to higher fares.

Customers are advised to visit United’s Web site at http://www.united.com/ or to call 1-800-UNITED-1 for information on canceled or rescheduled flights as the storm progresses.

American Airlines canceled 36 flights in and out of New Orleans on Monday. The airline is allowing passengers with tickets to or from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La.; Jackson, Miss.; Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola, Fla.; and Mobile, Ala. for Aug. 24-Sept. 3 to change their tickets if issued no later than Aug. 24. Passengers may change reservations as late as Sept. 3, and should visit http://www.aa.com/gates before traveling to the airport.

Continental Airlines canceled 111 flights in the region. The are allowing clients ticketed for travel Aug. 24 through Sept. 3 to or from a host of Florida, Louisiana, Bahamas, Mississippi and Alabama airports to reschedule or reroute travel once without penalty; check http://preseason.ntaonline.com/ for the list. Travel must be rescheduled or re-issued on Continental by Sept. 10. NTA encourages you to go to the Federal Aviation Administration Web site at http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp to keep abreast of airport-related updates. The status information provided on this site indicates general airport conditions; it is not flight specific. Please check with your airline to determine if your flight is affected.

For further updates on Hurricane Katrina, such as special discounted rates being offered by hotels, please visit "What’s New" under the right-hand column on NTA Online. NTA also encourages you to use the Member Forums as a means of facilitating communications related to the hurricane.

NTA continues to ask for your assistance so that we may accurately convey the current state of travel to members in the Gulf Coast region, the media and the traveling public. Please send any information, comments or observations to NTA’s communications specialist Pat Henderson via e-mail at pat.henderson@ntastaff.com or by calling 800.682.8886, ext. 4425 (U.S and Canada) or 859.226.4425.