What should travel agents do when a winter storm cancels flights?

By 7:30 on Friday morning, November 13, a Northeast storm had cancelled 242 US flights and delayed 656 more, according to FlightAware figures in Travel Market Report. JFK alone had 54 inbound cancellations. The FAA ran ground stops on Thursday for wind and rain. Winter has barely started, and the Thanksgiving peak is two weeks out, so this is a good week to agree how your team works the next storm.

Which travelers do you check first?

Start with a list, before the phones ring. Pull every active booking that touches the affected airports on the affected dates, including connections. This week that meant JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Islip and Westchester.

1. Travelers departing in the next 24 hours. They need an answer first.
2. Travelers already on the road. Their return or onward flight may sit inside the window.
3. Later travel inside the waiver dates. These can move calmly once the urgent cases are done.

A traveler who rebooks through the airline's app still belongs on your list. You'll want the new ticket in your records before the ARC week closes.

How do you read an airline's weather notice?

Every notice answers the same handful of questions. Find each answer before you touch the ticket.

Delta's September notice is a good model of what an agency notice contains, because it was written for agents. Read the current notice for each storm, since every one has its own dates and codes.

Should the traveler rebook or take a refund?

Offer the rebooking first. Most travelers still want to get there, and the waiver usually makes the change free.

The refund rule matters when the airline cancels. Under DOT's rule, a traveler whose flight is cancelled and who declines the new flight or other offer is owed a full refund of the fare, taxes and ancillary fees. "Prompt" has a set meaning: 7 business days for a card purchase and 20 calendar days for other payment. An airline may offer a credit in its place, and that offer must state the right to a refund. The credit stays valid for at least five years.

When your agency is the merchant of record, the airline has to tell you promptly whether the traveler qualifies. Keep that answer with the booking.

How do you reissue under the waiver?

Follow the notice exactly. Delta's bulletin shows the level of detail to expect: a cabin-to-cabin waiver code, a separate code for the change fee, and a set place for the code. It goes in the ticket designator field first. If that's in use, the tour code. If that's in use too, the first position of the endorsement box.

The remark matters as much as the code. Delta asks for an OSI remark in the PNR, and for a refund it asks for the remark before the itinerary is cancelled. A reissue missing its code or remark is the classic source of a debit memo weeks later. Our waiver code guide covers each field in more depth.

What about refunds through ARC?

Delta's notice lets agents refund a totally unused nonrefundable ticket through normal ARC processing when Delta cancels and the traveler turns down every alternative. A ticket that was already reissued or partly used goes through Delta's online refund form. Other airlines set their own routes, so check the notice and the airline's agency page.

What do you record so the ARC week closes clean?

• The notice itself. Save a copy or a link with the date you read it. Airlines say their exception policies can change at any time.
• The code and the remark, in the fields the notice named.
• The traveler's choice. Write down which option they took, and the date.
• Any credit left over, with its expiry date.

Then match every reissue and refund in IAR before the Tuesday deadline. A storm week brings many exchanges at once, and a daily match keeps Tuesday to one day's work.

Common questions