Airlines prepare for ‘historic’ winter storm in the US
An ‘historic’ storm bearing down on the South has prompted Delta Air Lines to take some creative measures to ensure it has front-line workers ready to deal with any disruption at main hub Atlanta Airport
The Atlanta-based carrier is reportedly booking out hotel rooms en masse for essential personnel while Delta gate agents and ramp agents will be accommodated at the airport overnight.
It may even use parked aircraft with lie-flat seats to accommodate more employees, according to local news outlet AJC.com.
North Georgia and metro Atlanta could get up to four inches of snow.
A winter storm watch is in effect across a huge swathe of the South and Southeast from Louisiana up to Southern Pennsylvania.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 79 counties as the National Weather Service warned roads may become impassable and power cuts are likely going into the weekend.
The airline will be ‘flexible’ with non-essential staff members who prefer to work from home, Delta spokesman Michael Thomas said.
Delta has waived change fees for travel on Friday and Saturday for flights to, from or through Atlanta and several other cities likely to be impacted including Birmingham, AL, Nashville, Norfolk, VA, Wilmington, NC and Raleigh-Durham.
United and Southwest Airlines have also issued advisories and are offering similar fee waivers and refund options.
Virgin Atlantic is offering passengers due to fly to and from Atlanta on January 6 and 7 the chance to cancel and rebook for travel before January 10.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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