Thousands of Flights Canceled and Delayed as Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall in Texas

13.07.2024 - 07:42 / travelandleisure.com / Spirit Airlines / United Airlines

Thousands of flights were delayed and canceled across the United States on Monday as Hurricane Beryl crashed into the Texas coast.

More than 1,300 flights were canceled and more than 1,000 were delayed within, into, or out of the U.S. on Monday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. United Airlines bore the brunt of those cancellations with more than 400 — or 14 percent of the airline’s total schedule — followed by Southwest Airlines with more than 260.

Most of the cancellations were centered around Texas, and especially Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which saw more than 520 cancelations — or 80 percent of its outgoing scheduled flights. Houston’s other airport, William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), also canceled more than 100 outgoing flights, while Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) canceled a couple dozen.

To cope with the weather disruptions, major airlines issued flight alerts and waived fare differences for travelers who need to change their flights to and from Texas, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines. American Airlines also extended its waiver to nearby states Arkansas and Louisiana. 

Hurricane Beryl, which became the earliest storm to reach Category 5 status last week, slammed into Texas in the early morning hours on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane about 85 miles southwest of Houston, The Associated Press reported. The storm quickly caused mass power outages.

The hurricane was expected to weaken into a tropical storm later Monday before turning into a tropical depression on Tuesday as it moved northeast, the AP noted.

Before hitting Texas, Beryl moved on a destructive path through the Caribbean, forcing cruise lines to reroute and airports on popular islands like Jamaica and Grand Cayman to temporarily close.

While the hurricane moved on, the impact was lasting. But there are several organizations people can contribute to that are helping with relief and recovery efforts in the area.