Travelers look at flight status boards as flights are delayed or canceled due to a severe winter storm at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on January 26, 2026.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Ahead of another major winter storm on the East Coast, U.S. airlines are canceling flights on Sunday and starting waiving cancellation and change fees at airports from Virginia to Maine, putting airlines back to the test at the end of the winter break.
delta airlines, american airlines, jet blue airlines, united airlines Spirit Airlines has waived fees and fare differences for passengers if they can travel by Feb. 26. southwest airlines It said customers are eligible for a change without paying the fare difference if they can rebook the flight or flight standby within two weeks.
The storm could bring 13 to 18 inches of snow to parts of southern Connecticut and southeastern New York and bring winds of up to 55 mph, according to the National Weather Service. A snowstorm warning is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Nearly 400 U.S. flights were canceled as of 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines had the most cancellations, with 174, accounting for 5% of its main route schedule. New York’s airport, which makes up Delta’s main hub, was the hardest hit by Sunday’s disruption.
The National Weather Service has raised its initial assessment of the storm’s potential severity. The National Weather Service is currently predicting that 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 centimeters) of snow could fall in many areas. A blizzard warning was also issued for coastal areas of New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The weather bureau warned that the storm’s steady winds of 25 to 35 mph (40 to 56 kph) “make travel dangerous, if not impossible.”
January’s Winter Storm Fern brought severe cold and widespread travel disruptions across large swathes of the United States.
American Airlines has been struggling to rebuild, facing harsh criticism from its flight attendants, some of whom were stranded and had to sleep at the airport, and tensions between front-line workers and CEO Robert Isom.
The storm cost American Airlines between $150 million and $200 million in lost revenue, the airline said on an earnings call last month.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
