Delta, American, Southwest offer free flight changes

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A traveler watches a crew remove snow in the Central Terminal at LaGuardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York.

Airlines are waiving fees for passengers who want to change their travel dates as a powerful winter storm climbs up the East Coast.

Delta Air Lines said passengers booked to fly Thursday or Friday from a dozen airports in the northeast, including Boston Logan International Airport and all three major New York City-area airports, can depart as late as Jan. 8, without paying a change fee. They may be charged a difference in fare, however, the airline said.

American Airlines issued a similar waiver for more than a dozen airports in the Northeast. The largest U.S. airline, is also waiving change fees for travel from 14 airports in the South, including Savannah and Raleigh, due to the storm. A record-setting blast of cold is expected to follow the system.

Southwest Airlines warned travelers that flights to and from 19 East Coast airports may be canceled, delayed or diverted due to the storm and encouraged travelers to change their travel dates.

Dozens of flights were already canceled across the Southeast on Wednesday, according to plane-tracking site Flight Aware.

Airlines frequently offer travelers a chance to change their travel dates far in advance of a storm in an effort to avoid chaos at the airport, where travelers may be stranded, and to prevent a crush of frustrated travelers from overloading their employees.