Airlines are letting passengers change their flights for free as Hurricane Hilary threatens to cause travel chaos
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- Major airlines are waiving change fees for passengers flying this weekend.
- American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and United expect flight disruptions due to Hurricane Hilary.
- The tropical storm was near the Mexican coast Friday and is heading for southern California.
Several airlines are waiving change fees for passengers traveling this weekend as Hurricane Hilary is expected to cause flight disruptions.
The tropical storm was located in the Pacific Ocean south of Cabo San Lucas on Saturday and headed for southern California, weather tracker Zoom Earth showed.
Some parts of Mexico and California could see flash flooding and "heavy rain, strong winds, and heavy surf" is expected, the US Embassy in Mexico City warned.
American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and United are among the growing list of carriers letting travelers change their flights for free this weekend.
"If you have flight plans, I would keep an eye on them," UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the Los Angeles Times. "And if you're flexible, I would just wait. I would go ... prior to noon on Saturday or after Tuesday."
American Airlines issued a travel alert, telling passengers traveling through several airports in California they could rebook their flights for free by August 21. Customers can change their trip online or call the airline.
Southwest also warned that the weather could result in flight disruption. Passengers can also rebook their flight at no charge within 14 days of their original date of travel.
Delta said that it will waive the fee difference for travelers who rebook their ticket on or before August 23, while United said it won't charge passengers who change their flight and fly between August 17 and 28.
At least 74 flights within, to or from the US have been canceled across Saturday and Sunday, and a further 465 have been delayed as of Saturday morning ET, data from flight tracking site FlightAware showed.
A Southwest representative told Insider: "Our teams continue monitoring the hurricane's progress. At this time Southwest has not made proactive schedule adjustments, however we do have a travel advisory allowing for additional flexibility for customers on Southwest.com, which we will continue to update as the storm progresses."
American Airlines, Delta and United didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.