Hurricane Dorian is set to wreak havoc on air travel - here's what you need to know about flights

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Hurricane Dorian is set to wreak havoc on air travel - here's what you need to know about flights

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  • Hurricane Dorian is on track impact Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands in the next several days
  • Air travel is likely to be severely impacted, and delays and cancellations could impact flights nationwide.
  • Airlines - including American, JetBlue, Southwest, and United - have issued travel waivers letting some affected passengers change their flights without any fees. Scroll down for details on the waivers, and check back here for updates.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A dangerous tropical storm in the Caribbean strengthened on Wednesday to become Hurricane Dorian.

The Category 1 hurricane bore down on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on Wednesday, and is expected to make landfall in Florida or southern Georgia as a major hurricane - which means a Category 3 or stronger - by Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Air travel is expected to be impacted in those areas, though as in many cases of severe weather, effects could ripple nationwide as aircraft are forced to be repositioned or rack up delays due to the storm over the course of a travel day.

So far, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United have issued travel waivers, allowing those with flights that may be directly impacted to change their itineraries without a fee. However, other airlines are expected to follow.

Scroll down for full details.

If you're traveling this weekend, check this page for updated travel waiver information.

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American Airlines

American Airlines

Passengers flying to, from, or connecting through the following airports on August 30 to 31 are eligible for travel waivers:

  • Freeport, Bahamas (FPO)
  • George Town, Bahamas (GGT)
  • Marsh Harbour, Bahamas (MHH)
  • Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
  • Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS)

The waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime between August 28 to September 7 between the same cities and in the same cabin.

Also, passengers traveling to, from, or through the following airports on August 26 to 29 are eligible for travel waivers under the same terms (as long as they rebook their flights for August 26 to September 5):

  • Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI)
  • Cap Haitien, Haiti (CAP)
  • Fort de France, Martinique (FDF)
  • Port Au Prince, Haiti (PAP)
  • Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP)
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
  • Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)
  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
  • St. Lucia, Saint Lucia (UVF)

To change your flight, contact airline reservations at 800-433-7300, or make the change online yourself by clicking "change trip" when you pull up your flight details.

Delta

Delta

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, or connecting through the following airports on August 26 to 29:

  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
  • Port Au Prince, Haiti (PAP)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
  • Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)
  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
  • St. Lucia, Saint Lucia (UVF)
  • St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (STT)

The full waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime on or before September 5 between the same cities and in the same cabin.

You can also cancel your flight and get a refund in the form of a credit. You'll have to use the credit to purchase a new ticket for travel within a year of the original purchase date.

Also, passengers traveling to, from, or through the following airports on August 30 to 31 are eligible for travel waivers under the same terms (as long as they rebook their flights for September 7 or earlier):

  • George Town, Bahamas (GGT)
  • Marsh Harbour, Bahamas (MHH)
  • Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
  • Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS)

To change your flight, click "My Trips" in the Delta app or on the website.

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JetBlue

JetBlue

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, and connecting through the following airports on August 28 to 29:

  • Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN)
  • Ponce, Puerto Rico (PSE)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
  • St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (STT)

The waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime between through September 1 between the same cities and in the same cabin.

To change your flight, contact airline reservations at 800-538-2583, or make the change online yourself by clicking "manage flights" when you pull up your flight details.

If your flight ends up being cancelled, you can also opt for a full refund.

United

United

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, connecting through the following airports on August 28 to 29:

  • Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN)
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)​
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)

The full waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime by September 1 between the same cities and in the same cabin.

To change your flight, contact airline reservations at 800-864-8331, or make the change online yourself through the United website or app.

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Southwest

Southwest

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, and connecting through the following airports on August 26 to 30:

  • Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS)
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)

And the following airport on August 27 to September 1:

  • Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)

And these airports August 31 to September 2:

  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL)
  • Orlando, Florida (MCO)
  • West Palm Beach, Florida (PBI)

The waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime within 14 days of the original travel date between the same cities and in the same cabin.

To change your flight, contact airline reservations at 800-435-9792, or make the change online yourself by using the Southwest app or website.

Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, or connecting through the following airports on August 26 to 30:

  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)

Affected passengers can make one change. The waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for anytime on or before September 20 — passengers are allowed to change their origin or destination cities.

To change your flight call reservations at 801-401-9000.

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Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines

Travel waiver applies for passengers flying to, from, or connecting through the following airports on August 27 to 30:

  • Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN)
  • Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
  • Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)

The full waiver applies as long as you reschedule your flight for travel on or before September 5 between the same cities. Change fees will be waived if you reschedule for a later date, but you may have to pay a fare difference.

To change your flight, visit the "manage travel" page and enter your flight information, or call reservations at 801-401-2222.