Hurricane Hilary Update: Flight Disruptions Easing, Some Southern California Airports Still Affected

Hurricane Hilary, the eighth named Pacific storm of the 2023 hurricane season, made its way through the southwest U.S. over the weekend and is now a post-tropical storm traveling through Nevada.

According to the latest from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hilary brought a historic amount of rainfall across the Southwestern United States, rainfall that is still ongoing and could bring some flash flooding to areas across the region.

“Strong and gusty winds are expected to persist across portions of the western United States today, particularly in and near areas of higher terrain,” the NHC said in its latest update.

Flight issues from Hilary have drastically dropped off since Sunday, a day that saw more than 1,000 cancellations and more than 4,500 delays across the U.S. Still, there is a small follow-through, particularly at some of the smaller airports in Southern California. According to FlightAware, here is how things are shaking out as of 4 a.m. PST on Monday morning:

• San Diego International: 14% of departures canceled, 10% of arrivals canceled.
• Harry Reid International in Las Vegas 4% of departures canceled, 3% of arrivals.
• Hollywood Burbank Airport (Bob Hope): 17% of all departures canceled, 11% of arrivals.
• Palm Springs International: 14% of all departures

Most notably however, the region’s largest airport, and one of the busiest in all of North America, Los Angeles International (LAX), was operating close to normal as of early on Monday morning. FlightAware was showing only 16 cancellations at the airport.

Flight Waivers
Even with Hilary’s impact winding down, airlines are still offering some flight change waivers through Monday.

Alaska Airlines is allowing passengers at several Southern California airports, including Burbank, LAX, Ontario, Palm Springs, San Diego, Santa Ana, and more, to change or cancel their flight without fee as long as the rebooked travel is completed by Aug. 25.

American Airlines is allowing the same for the same Southern California airports, along with Yuma International in Arizona. Those using American’s waiver have to travel by Aug. 22.

Delta Air Lines’ waiver also runs through Aug. 21 and, outside of those Southern California airports, includes Harry Reid International. New travel with Delta has to be completed by Aug. 23.

JetBlue’s waiver also runs through Monday and includes four Southern California Airports—Burbank, Los Angeles, Ontario, and San Diego—along with Harry Reid International. New travel has to be completed by Aug. 22.

United Airlines is allowing travelers with tickets through nine Southern California airports on Monday to change their tickets without penalty or fare differences. New travel has to be completed by Aug. 28.