The Week's Top Travel Stories: Tropical Storm Barry Waivers, American's Flight Crew Fashion Police, and More (Updated July 2019)

Airlines Waive Ticket Change Fees for Tropical Storm Barry

Travelers concerned about upcoming reservations in light of Tropical Storm Barry may be able to change or cancel without penalty.

Waiver conditions will vary by carrier.

So far, American Airlines is allowing passengers traveling to/from the Gulf Coast area to rebook without penalty.

For JetBlue passengers traveling to New Orleans through Saturday, the airline will waive fees for changes/cancelations, and passengers won't be required to pay any fare difference, if applicable, for changes.

Delta is allowing no-fee changes/cancelations for those traveling to/from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Gulfport, Jackson, Lafayette, and Mobile through July 14.

Spirit is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers traveling to/from New Orleans and Houston through July 14.

Southwest Airlines is also waiving fees for those traveling through July 14 to/from Panama City Beach and Pensacola, and through July 15 to/from New Orleans, Corpus Christi and Houston.

Currently, the storm is forecasted to make landfall in Louisiana on Saturday.

American Airlines Crew Forces Passenger to Cover Up Romper

Of all the many things that flight attendants must do before take off, scrutinizing the fashion choices of passengers is probably not the most pressing of tasks. Or so you'd like to think. But earlier this week, a Houston doctor came forward with her story of being removed from an American Airlines flight from Kingston, Jamaica to Miami after the flight crew took issue with her romper.

Dr. Tisha Rowe says she was eventually allowed back on board, along with her 8-year-old son, but only after being made to cover herself with an airplane blanket.

"Had they seen that same issue in a woman who was not a woman of color, they would not have felt empowered to take me off the plane," Dr. Rowe told the New York Times.

American Airlines has, of course, issued a refund to Dr. Rowe as well as an apology, adding, "We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds."

The incident comes just weeks after the NAACP lifted its travel warning against American Airlines after a string of similar complaints of discriminatory behavior.

Engine Failure Causes Delta MD-88 to Make Emergency Landing

On Monday, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Baltimore had to make an emergency landing in Raleigh-Durham after an engine malfunction. Passengers reported hearing a loud boom soon followed by smoke in the cabin.

In a video shot by a passenger, an orange glow can be seen coming from the center of the engine as a pointed hunk of metal has become detached. "After we heard the boom, we just saw all this smoke come up into the cabin and that's when we really started freaking out. It started slowing down a little bit and it was getting hot. The air cut off," passenger Avery Porch told ABC News in Baltimore. "I was about to be the first person to jump off."

The aircraft involved in the incident is an MD-88, the oldest plane in service with any major airline. Delta plans on phasing out the MD-88 within the next three years.

There were no injuries reported among the 148 passengers on board.

To make up for the inconvenience, passengers were given $30 food vouchers while waiting in Raleigh-Durham for a new plane to be substituted.

Poland's New Airport Could Be the World's Biggest

Warsaw's spacious Chopin Airport already feels much more modern than most U.S. airports, but a new airport in the Polish capital could soon become the world's busiest.

Located about 25 miles outside of Warsaw in Baranow, Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) is slated to open in 2027 and could handle as many as 100 million passengers annually.

The new airport would serve as a global hub for LOT Polish Airlines which hopes to increase its service to the Americas and Asia.

Though Chopin Airport was updated as recently as 2012, it's expected to reach passenger capacity in just four years.

While there's plenty of excitement around the project, not everyone in Poland is on board. Local residents in Baranow have voted against the plan. “I see more megalomaniacal self-aggrandizement than any realistic analysis in this project,” said former Warsaw mayor Marcin Swiecicki to Bloomberg Businessweek.

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