Delta Is Making It Easier to Handle Canceled Flights During Fourth of July Weekend — Here's How
Courtesy of Delta Airlines
Delta Air Lines is preparing for a busy July 4 weekend.
The airline announced Tuesday that it'll waive all change fees from July 1 through July 4. Additionally, Delta issued a systemwide travel waiver for fare differences.
Customers who re-book their flight must keep the same origin and destination cities and must travel by July 8. Travelers who do need to re-book or change their travel plans can do so via My Trips or the Fly Delta app.
The waiver was issued ahead of "potentially challenging weekend travel days" and amid weeks of widespread delays, cancellations, and travel headaches.
"Delta people are working around the clock to rebuild Delta's operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions. Even so, some operational challenges are expected this holiday weekend," the airline wrote in a statement. "This unique waiver is being issued to give Delta customers greater flexibility to plan around busy travel times, weather forecasts and other variables without worrying about a potential cost to do so."
Delta said it was expecting passenger volumes "not seen since before the pandemic" over the July 4 holiday weekend as travelers return to the skies en masse. In fact, experts have predicted July 4 may be the busiest holiday weekend of the summer.
Passenger numbers have already started picking up in recent weeks. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.46 million people — the most since February 2020 — and the agency has consistently seen daily passenger numbers top 2 million people throughout June.
But airlines are continuing to deal with widespread cancellations and delays, often blamed on a combination of air traffic control problems and staffing shortages. Several carriers have preemptively slashed their summer schedules to cope, including Delta, JetBlue and United Airlines.
Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.
