Hurricane Nicole: American Airlines Waives Change Fees; Some CLT Flight Issues

Charlotte flight cancellations began Wednesday. Nicole, which strengthened from a tropical storm into a hurricane Wednesday evening, prompted American Airlines to waive change fees for flights connected to 20 airports in Florida, Georgia, the Bahamas and Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

At least 55 flights were canceled by 4 p.m. between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and airports primarily in Florida and Georgia, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights at the nation’s airports.

The numbers included at least 21 outbound and 30 inbound CLT flights, most all of them on American Airlines and its PSA Airlines subsidiary, the tracking site showed. Charlotte is an American Airlines hub.

Eighteen of the flights were between CLT and Orlando, nine were to and from Palm Beach and seven between Charlotte and Key West, according to Flight Aware.

Nicole was expected to remain a hurricane until it reaches the east coast of Florida Wednesday night or early Thursday, somewhere along a hurricane warning area that stretches from Boca Raton to the Flagler- Volusia county line, according to a 7 p.m. National Hurricane Center advisory.

“Nicole is expected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States Thursday through Friday, and is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday afternoon,” National Hurricane Center officials said in the advisory.

Nicole’s center is predicted to barrel across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday and Thursday night, and across the Carolinas on Friday, center officials said.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nicole packed 75-mph winds about 100 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, according to the advisory.

Flight changes, Hurricane Nicole

American Airlines passengers can reschedule their travel on aa.com or by calling 800-433-7300.

To assist customers in Nicole’s path who choose to evacuate via air, American added reduced, last-minute fares for cities expected to be impacted by the storm.

Southwest Airlines also has waived change fees to and from Nicole-impacted destinations.

Nicole is expected to deliver gusty winds and 2 to 3 inches of rain to the Charlotte region late Thursday and on Friday, the National Weather Service reported.