Thousands of flights delayed and hundreds canceled. Hurricane Debby caused chaos across the country.

The US East Coast is facing the effects of Hurricane Debby. In Florida alone, more than 200 flights were canceled on Monday. In total, several thousand flights across the country were affected by the element, which were delayed or could not take place at all. This is another powerful weather phenomenon that has hit the United States this year. Experts warned of the intensification of hurricanes several months ago.

Hurricane Debby in the United States

Hundreds of thousands of bewildered travelers have been swarming airports in Florida and neighboring states for the past two days. The entire east coast of the United States has been battered by Hurricane Debby, now downgraded to a tropical storm. While the extreme weather event, classified as a Category 1 hurricane that peaked on Monday, August 5, is slowly easing, chaos is still reigning at airports. “The U.S. air travel system is feeling the effects. As of 5 p.m. ET Monday, more than 1,700 flights had been canceled and 5,800 flights were delayed at U.S. airports throughout the day, according to FlightAware, a free app that provides flight tracking data.

Refunds for cancelled flights

In the United States, as in Europe, affected travelers have the right to demand a refund for a cancelled flight. However, this does not apply to flights canceled due to reasons beyond the airline’s control, such as weather conditions. Despite this, many American carriers have offered their customers free flight transfers to travel on the following days, when the weather calms down. “It’s very inconvenient when you travel with children. You’re tired, they’re irritated and don’t understand anything. The next day to fly home is probably Tuesday,” said one passenger whose flight was canceled on Sunday. Airports are urging travelers to arrive at check-in well in advance due to the numerous difficulties.