Chicago Airports Facing Massive Cancellations Because of Winter Storm Gerri

Winter Storm Gerri in the Chicago area is causing huge issues at two of the country’s busiest airports—Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport.

According to FlightAware, more than 35% of Chicago Midway outbound flights—more than 80 in total—and more than a quarter of all flights from O’Hare—more than 260—have been canceled on Friday. Both airports’ inbound schedules are also a mess, with 267 cancellations for flights into O’Hare, and 92 for flights into Midway.

All those figures are expected to get worse on Friday, and bleed into Saturday, as the area west of Chicago and near the Wisconsin border prepares for a winter storm that could see up to 12 inches of snow in some areas. The storm could also impact travel in Michigan, Nebraska, and more areas in the Midwest.

In anticipation of the storm, several airlines have issued change fee and fare difference waivers for travel in that area. They include:

American Airlines
American is allowing fee-free changes, with the fare difference waived, for travel on Jan. 12 and 13 at the following airports:

Appleton, WI (ATW), Bloomington / Normal, IL (BMI), Cedar Rapids, IA (CID), Chicago, IL (ORD), Columbia, MO (COU), Des Moines, IA (DSM), Detroit, MI (DTW), Flint, MI (FNT), Grand Island, NE (GRI), Grand Rapids, MI (GRR), Green Bay, WI (GRB), Kalamazoo / Battle Creek, MI (AZO), Kansas City, MO (MCI), La Crosse, WI (LSE), Lansing, MI (LAN), Madison, WI (MSN), Manhattan, KS (MHK), Marquette, MI (MQT), Milwaukee, WI (MKE), Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN (MSP), Moline, IL (MLI), Omaha, NE (OMA), Peoria, IL (PIA), Rochester, MN (RST), Sioux Falls, SD (FSD), South Bend, IN (SBN), Springfield, IL (SPI), St. Louis, MO (STL), Toronto, Canada (YYZ), Traverse City, MI (TVC), Waterloo, IA (ALO), Wausau, WI (CWA), Wichita, KS (ICT).

Changes must be made by Jan. 13 and new travel must be completed by Jan. 19.

Delta Air Lines
Delta has issued its own waiver for the winter storm—anyone traveling on Delta on Jan. 12 and 13 can change to a new flight through Jan. 16 with fees waived. The waiver includes the following airports:

Alpena, MI (APN), Appleton, WI (ATW), Bloomington, IL (BMI), Burlington, VT (BTV), Cedar Rapids, IA (CID), Chicago, IL (MDW), Chicago, IL (ORD), Des Moines, IA (DSM), Detroit, MI (DTW), Escanaba, MI (ESC), Grand Rapids, MI (GRR), Green Bay, WI (GRB), Iron Mountain, MI (IMT), Kalamazoo, MI (AZO), Kansas City, MO (MCI), La Crosse, WI (LSE), Lansing, MI (LAN), Madison, WI (MSN), Marquette, MI (MQT), Milwaukee, WI (MKE), Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP), Moline, IL (MLI), Montreal, QC (YUL), Omaha, NE (OMA), Pellston, MI (PLN), Rhinelander, WI (RHI), Rochester, MN (RST), Saginaw, MI (MBS), Sault Saint Marie, MI (CIU), Sioux Falls, SD (FSD), South Bend, IN (SBN), Toronto, ON (YYZ), Traverse City, MI (TVC), Wausau, WI (CWA).

Southwest
Southwest is waiving fare differences for those scheduled to fly on Jan. 12 and 13 at the following airports:

Chicago (Midway), IL (MDW), Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD), Des Moines, IA (DSM), Detroit, MI (DTW), Grand Rapids, MI (GRR), Indianapolis, IN (IND), Kansas City, MO (MCI), Milwaukee, WI (MKE), Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP), Omaha, NE (OMA), St. Louis, MO (STL).

Travelers can change flights to a new one within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city-pairs.

United Airlines
United has issued a waiver for travel through Jan. 13, for all tickets purchased by Jan. 9, at the following airports:

Appleton, WI (ATW), Cedar Rapids, IA (CID), Hancock, MI (CMX), Decatur, IL (DEC), Des Moines, IA (DSM), Detroit, MI (DTW), Flint, MI (FNT), Fort Dodge, IA (FOD), Fort Wayne, IN (FWA), Green Bay, WI (GRB), Grand Rapids, MI (GRR), Lincoln, NE (LNK), Saginaw, MI (MBS), Kansas City, MO (MCI), Mason City, IA (MCW), Milwaukee, WI (MKE), Moline, IL (MLI), Madison, WI (MSN), Omaha, NE (OMA), Chicago, IL (ORD), Peoria, IL (PIA), South Bend, IN (SBN), St. Louis, MO (STL), Sioux City, IA (SUX), Traverse City, MI (TVC).

New flights with the waiver must be rescheduled for travel by Jan. 16.