As you would imagine, San Diego International Airport was busy on Monday making up for all the canceled flights the day before due to Tropical Storm Hilary muscling through Southern California.
About 75 flights out of San Diego were canceled on Monday after Sunday’s 250 cancellations, according to FlightAware.
NBC 7 Responds went to the airport where there was a sense of relief by many travelers that the consequences of Hilary did not pack the punch feared by many experts.
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Cleveland-native Susan Frost arrived in San Diego on Friday to spend time with her son and grandson. Her trip back home got pushed back a day because of the storm.
“My son works, so I told him to just drop me off at the airport and I’ll figure it out,” she said with a smile, explaining the postponement didn’t bother her one bit, “I’m retired now, so however long it takes me to get home, it is no longer an issue anymore.”
Meantime Ilani Nelson from Orlando, Florida, looked over at the departure monitor and found his flight.
“The kiosk says delayed, but the board says on time. It’s not a good thing. I have a seven-hour flight coming up,” he said.
Nelson also visited San Diego to be a part of a tattoo festival. He says he got a kick out of the local reaction to the historic storm.
“We deal with a lot of hurricanes, we know how to get through them, we noticed that here a lot of you are not familiar with it,” he said. Fair point.
The United States Department of Transportation has an Air Cancellation and Delay Dashboard for air travelers.
Tracking Hilary
It explains that federal law doesn’t require airlines to pay compensation for delays. However, when it comes to cancellations, no matter the reason, it does require airlines to offer a full refund.
Controllable cancellation protocols may vary from airline to airline. These cancellations are due to scheduling, maintenance, fueling and other factors.
As far as controllable cancellations, due to factors such as fueling, maintenance, scheduling, etc., most airlines will offer to pay for a meal when a cancellation results in a passenger waiting for three hours or more for a flight.
Most airlines will also offer to pay for a hotel to any passengers affected by an overnight cancellation. This could include transportation to and from the hotel.
Here are some tips that could help reduce the probability of a flight getting canceled or delayed on you -
- Fly early in the day. This is when airlines generally experience the fewest disruptions
- Try to avoid connecting flights. The fewer planes you need, the better the chances of an issue popping up
- Choose an airline with multiple flights per day to your destination
- Check your credit card for protections against flight delays and cancellations
If you have a go-to airline for all your travels, maybe it’s time to brush up on their policies regarding delays and cancellations just in case there is a next time.
