Help! Irene is messing with my Italian dream wedding!

Reroute through LA and Cairo. Otherwise, you just have to see what happens. Backed-up traffic will clear faster than aiport damage. Worst of all will be damage to atc facilities (rapcon or new york center).

You are in better shape than the people who are trying to leave this weekend. If you are confirmed on a Thursday flight you will likely go unless your plane gets displaced. I have twice dealt with volcano uncertainty. It's annoying, but I just try not to worry about things I can't control. You could theoretically try to connect in a different city. You can check with your airline to see if that's possible, but it may not get you there faster.

Thanks Brad. I feel a little better. But what does it mean for a flight to be "displaced"? Sorry I sounded so frantic, but with all the last minute wedding details to work out on top of everything that goes into arrainging a 3-week trip overseas, this storm was the straw that broke my emotional back. ;-)

I listened to a good part of Mayor Bloomberg's press conference this afternoon. It's sounds a bit scary, and I'm contemplating fleeing upstate. That said, they are talking about Mass Transit being out through Monday. So, I suspect that you will be okay. Of course, I'm new to NY and I think most of NY is new to Irene so who knows for sure. You might want to post this on TripAdvisor's NYC forum. There are more locals there. Maybe even a few who have been through a hurricane in NY. The last time I saw a hurricane was on Hadrian's Wall and it was the remnants of a Hurricane who's name I can't even recall. Pam

I have had a few flight delays and actually if you are confirmed on Thursday you could get out before the people who don't make it out over the weekend. From the way it happened to me, they won't keep moving everyone to accomodate those there the longest. They just try to fit them in somewhere. If they move everyone they will have far more unhappy customers, so I think you might be okay. Do you have a few extra days to play with before the wedding? Where are you getting married? I am a photographer and did a wedding in Certaldo Alto a few years ago and it was fantastic, romantic and just plain amazing. I am sure yours will be too.

What airline are you using?

Congrats Jane! I wouldn't worry about too much since you are just connecting in NY. I'm from the gulf coast so I am way too familiar with these things and you would be amazed how quickly the logistics of many things change on a dime. By Monday, the airlines will probably have it all figured out. There are so many hubs to Italy that I can't see why they wouldn't have you connect in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, etc if it's a problem. I'd just relax. You have more important things to think about right now. Best wishes to you both!

Jane, by displaced, I mean the plane that is supposed to pick you up in NYC may be stuck elsewhere. It takes a couple of days after an incident for the airline to get it's plane rotation back in order. The storm has weakened a little, so things are looking up.

Thank you all for your replies - I'm feeling much better now!!! Just gotta learn to breathe a little deeper........ My thoughts and prayers are with everyone on the east coast right now. Take cover guys, and be safe!

I would get hold of the airline today and ask them for alternate flights. The airline are canceling flights now. they will be backed up when the storm is over and they probably want every seat they can get going out of New York. So they may be very willing to route you through Chicago, Atlanta or anything else that is convenient just to have one less passenger to worry about in New York. The worse they can say is NO. I am sure you could fly through Chicago.

I have a similiar dilemna only my flight leaves from Newark to Copenhagen on Tue Aug 30! I really hope this doesn't dampen my travel plans :/

What we're hearing in NYC is that the storm will come through after midnight Saturday and be in full force most of Sunday. The recovery is slated for Monday. But the question is how long that recovery will take. If there are power issues, I imagine it will take longer. I really, really hope that the power does not go out. Both JFK and LaGuardia are on the water and I just heard that JFK is closing to International Flights starting tomorrow at noon. Pam

The news indicated that most airlines are letting passengers change flights (dates or which city they leave from) without penalty. Check into leaving from Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago or other unaffected cities.