As a ridiculously powerful category 4 storm barrels towards the east coast of the US, airlines have moved to issue waivers to allow passengers to make changes to their plans. Airlines using airports in the path of the hurricane, in Virginia and the Carolinas, issued waivers on Monday. Today, the waiver zone has spread as far as Baltimore and D.C too.

With the hurricane due to make landfall early on Friday morning, many airlines flying routes in and around the area have already been hinting at hurricane Florence flight cancellations. As of Tuesday morning, waivers allowing passengers to change or rebook their flights with no additional charge are in place at every big airline serving the mid-Atlantic area.

The most powerful in three decades

Described as being the most powerful storm to threaten the Carolinas in almost three decades, Hurricane Florence has a whole lot of people a whole lot of worried. Despite losing power over the course of Tuesday, weather watchers say it is what’s known as an eyewall replacement, meaning it will begin to gather strength again as we move towards the end of the week.

Governors in eastern states of North and South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia have already declared states of emergency. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference on Tuesday:

"This storm is a monster… It's big and it's vicious. It is an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane."

Already residents have begun evacuating the areas, either of their own accord or under one of the mandatory evacuation orders issued by the states. So far, these cover the entire South Carolina Coast, the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore of Virginia and Hatteras Island, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Nags Head in North Carolina.

In total, more than a million people have been told to leave their homes, in a bid to avoid as much loss of life as possible. With storm surges of up to 12 feet predicted, along with as much as 30 inches of rain, its time for the residents to do what they can to protect their homes, then leave.

What you need to know about hurricane Florence airline waivers

Originally, the hurricane Florence airline waivers only covered those airports in Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas. However, by Tuesday morning, Southwest Airlines had extended their policy to cover as far north as Maryland, taking in Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) as well as Regan National and Dulles airports.

Here’s what we know so far, airline by airline. Please note that things are changing all the time as the path and strength of the hurricane becomes clearer, so if you’re due to fly anywhere around the area over the next few days, do check with your carrier to see what the situation is.

• Allegiant

Waiver in place covering September 12^th to 16^th. Passengers should rebook within 14 days of advisory. Travel window is open ended.

• Alaska Airlines

Waiver in place for September 10^th to 16^th. Rebooking must be completed by 1^st October and flights must be booked after September 20^th. Passengers are warned that fares may change on rebooking.

• American Airlines

Waiver in place for September 10^th to 16^th. Rebooking window is very narrow on this one; flights must be booked between 10^th and 19^th September and scheduled for after 19^th September. Fares may be recalculated upon rebooking.

• Delta Air Lines

Waiver in place for September 13^th to 16^th, again with a narrow booking window. Flights must be rebooked between 10^th and 20^th September, with the change fee waived as long as flights are booked for after 20^th September. Recalculated fares are likely.

• Frontier Airlines

Waiver covers September 10^th to 16^th, and rebooking must be done by 1^st October.

• JetBlue

JetBlue’s waiver covers flights due to travel from the 13^th to the 15^th September. Booking must be done between 10^th and 20^th September and rescheduled for a date beyond the 20^th. Fares will be recalculated at the time of booking.

• Southwest Airlines

Flights due to travel between 10^th and 17^th of September are covered by the airlines change fee waiver. Rebooking must be done within 14 days of the original travel date.

• Spirit Airlines

Waiver covers flights booked for 12^th to the 16^th September. Customers should rebook between the 10^th and 20^th September and not schedule flights until after 20^th September. Fares will be recalculated at the time of booking.

• United Airlines

For those due to fly between 10^th and 16^th September, United Airlines say changes can be made with fees waived. Booking must take place between the 10^th and 20^th September, and fares may need to be recalculated.

• WestJet

WestJet have issued a waiver for flights on the 14^th September landing or leaving from Myrtle Beach (MYR). For full details, contact the airline directly.

A small airline, Sun Country, has not yet issued any information about waivers, so if you’re flying with them, we’d recommend talking to them directly. There are also some waivers in place for tropical storm Olivia and hurricane Isaac which are causing problems in the Pacific and Caribbean respectively, so check if you’re scheduled to fly in these areas.

Hurricane Florence flight cancellations are not expected to start hitting the schedule until midday Wednesday, but we’ll keep you posted when we know more. Until then, stay safe.