The steps to getting through a weather-related cancelation

Airline cancellations rose over 1,300 this past weekend, due to Hurricane Florence. The Category 4 hurricane wreaked havoc on the Carolinas and Southern Virginia, causing dangerous weather conditions, unsuitable for travel.

In response to this disastrous event, we thought it would be appropriate for us to share some valuable insight into what to do in the event of a flight cancellation. We chatted with our International Travel Counselor, Kim Grasso, to get some insight.

Firstly, Kim explained the difficulties surrounding communication with airlines during weather-related travel disturbances.

She explained, “Getting through to the airlines when there are weather issues might be extremely difficult. Your best bet would be to contact EWA Travel first. Be mindful that if there is some sort of weather-related delay or cancellation, wait times can be extremely prolonged.”

In the event of cancellations across the board, like during Florence, airlines, understandably, will receive a high influx of calls from thousands of people attempting to change their plans.

There are only some rare cases when you’ll have to go directly through the airlines. This would include rare cases when you would want to reissue a ticket on another carrier. Unfortunately, travel agents are unable to do so.

For all other issues, Kim highly suggests going through your travel agency, for assistance.

“We can confirm or deny if your flight has been canceled or not. EWA Travel has access to all of the airlines' waiver codes that they provide, in order to get your ticket reissued or reaccommodated, usually at no cost. For instance, if there was a mechanical issue with your plane, we can get your ticket reaccommodated.”