Delta and JetBlue offered rebooking waivers for passengers scheduled to fly Saturday as airlines worked through cancellations after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted Friday’s nationwide departure stop. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, but flights would resume gradually, Reuters reported. Airline waivers cover certain voluntary changes, while federal refund rules apply when a carrier cancels or significantly changes a flight and the customer declines alternatives.

The new notices address the aftermath of the ground stop, which the FAA imposed Friday after an air traffic communications problem. Some travelers still had a scheduled flight but wanted to move it. Others had a cancellation and had to decide whether to take a replacement flight or seek a refund. The options depend on the status of the reservation and the terms of the carrier’s waiver.

Delta’s waiver covers Friday and Saturday tickets

Delta’s advisory lists Nov. 13 and 14 as the affected dates and describes the waiver as systemwide. It lists Nov. 21 as both the deadline for making a change and the latest date for the replacement departure. The carrier says fare differences are waived when travel is rebooked within the window in the same cabin, subject to the conditions in the advisory. A later departure can result in a fare difference.

Delta’s recovery update directs customers to its flexible rebooking options. The timing matters for travelers whose trip can move by several days and for those whose plans are tied to a particular event. A waiver can make the change less costly if a seat is available, while the schedule itself determines whether a replacement can get a passenger to the destination in time.

JetBlue offers separate terms for its flights

JetBlue said it would waive change and cancellation fees and fare differences for qualifying travel on JetBlue-operated flights scheduled Friday or Saturday. It said the original travel must have been booked before Nov. 13 and that the new trip must take place by Nov. 18. For online changes, the notice instructs eligible passengers to rebook before the originally scheduled departure. Those terms apply to its own advisory. Travelers with more than one carrier on an itinerary need to check which company operates the affected flight and which company issued the ticket.

One carrier’s dates do not establish the terms for a ticket on another carrier. Waivers can specify when a ticket must have been booked, which dates count as affected, and when a replacement trip must occur. Travelers can check those details against the reservation before accepting a change. When the first flight on an itinerary is moved, it is also worth verifying the onward connection as part of the same transaction.

A cancellation can trigger a refund right

The Transportation Department says passengers who buy directly from an airline are entitled to an automatic refund when it cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the United States and the traveler does not accept the changed itinerary, a rebooked flight, a credit or other compensation. A traveler who takes the replacement generally gives up the right to a refund on that basis. A voucher is one possible offer.

Refund responsibility can depend on where the ticket was purchased. The department says a travel agent or online agency that is the merchant of record is required to make proper airfare refunds for a cancellation or significant change. That can make the transaction record relevant when the airline operates the flight but another company charged the customer. A voluntary cancellation under a waiver can have different terms from a cancellation initiated by the airline.

The federal guidance distinguishes a refund of the airfare from other costs that a disruption might create. A passenger assessing a replacement flight can consider the remaining value of the ticket and the time it would take to reach the destination. A credit for future travel, where offered, also has different terms from a refund to the original payment method. The choice should be made with those differences in view.

Departure clearance and schedule recovery are separate

Reuters reported that carriers faced thousands of cancellations and that aviation analysts expected the disruption to affect schedules after the stop was lifted. Aircraft and crews still have to be available for the flights listed on the schedule. The clearance to depart lets carriers resume operations, while the carrier’s own flight status shows whether it expects a specific departure to go ahead.

For a passenger with a Saturday booking, the first decision is whether the existing flight still works. If it does, the waiver may be irrelevant. If it is cancelled, the airline’s replacement offer can be compared with the option of a refund. If it remains scheduled and the passenger wants to move it, the change terms determine the available dates and any additional charge. The airline’s notice and the federal refund policy answer different parts of that decision.