Your flight Delayed/cancelled? What to do now
If unfortunately because of bad weather your flight delays, you are panicked and you don’t know what to do, here are some of the tips and advice for you. In this blog I will discuss what to do as a passenger if unfortunately the flight is delayed or cancelled.
If you want to read our other articles, here are some of the links
Flights cancelling and delay is a pretty common thing. The weather is not in control of anyone and most of the flights are delayed due to bad weather. The most affected people are the passengers of the aeroplane because they have to book another flight if the flight is cancelled and wait for hours if the flight is delayed. Weather plays a critical role in it and sometimes poor passengers have to wait even for a day until the weather is better for a flight.
First I will discuss on how to avoid flight delays and cancellations. These techniques may not work for some time, but they will work in most cases.
Precautions To Avoid Flight Delay
Check the forecast
Before booking a flight, please check the weather forecast and your flight path. If the weather is not good that week, avoid booking a flight and search for some other day where the weather is clear. It will save you precious time if you do this before booking a flight. Sometimes bad weather takes days to turn back to normal so in case you mistakenly book a flight in this situation it might cost you a lot of money to book a hotel which you might not want.
Mechanical Issue
These issues are very rare and occur once in a blue moon. These issues don’t cause a cancellation, but they cause a delay. You cannot predict the mechanical problem, so you have to wait in this case if you have booked a flight on this plane.
Bug in Software
There might be a computer glitch, sometimes it shows on-time flights as delayed flights. Your flight was on time, but there was an error in updating the flight status. So in order to overcome this issue, you can consult the reception and confirm if the flight is on time or delayed.
Few Crew Members
If the crew members are not complete, the flight cannot proceed. Similarly, if the seats are very less booked, then it can cause the flight to get cancelled because flying an empty aeroplane will cause huge monetary loss, which the company will not want.
Things to Do After Flight delay
If your flight is delayed, don’t panic. Trust me, it will not help you. Do the following things instead:
- Search for other flights
- Explore the airport
- Making new Friends
- Eat Something good
- Check Flight status
- Book a hotel
- Controlling emotions
Let’s discuss all these points one by one.
Search for other flights
If your flight is delayed by a day, search for other flights that are going to your destination on the same day. Look for flights from different airlines. If there is another airport nearby you look to see if some flights are going to your destination from the airport.
Explore the airport
First of all, you should explore the airport in case your flight is delayed. Instead of just sitting sad at the bench or cursing the aeroplane, you can turn your anger to do positive things, listening to some good music, have a walk and see what else is present in the airport. It will help you spend time in a positive way and it will pass quickly.
Making new friends
You have now missed your flight. Remember, it’s only you who can make good moments from bad situations. It’s up to you how you think, so my opinion is that you should interact with other people, maybe other passengers who are also waiting, say hi to them and start a conversation. Don’t wait for others to initiate, do it first and don’t hesitate. Making new friends will help you spend your waiting time in a pleasant way and you will not get bored.
Eat Something Good
This is a very good thing to distract yourself in such frustrating situations by going to the cafeteria or dining lounge of the airport and buying something which you love the most. Eating the things you love the most gives you positive vibes and energy and makes you feel happy and motivated. It is also a way to remove stress and anxiety in this situation.
Check Flight Status
Incase your flight is delay check your flight status after several minutes. It will keep you updated about the flight.
Book a Hotel
Sadly, if your flight is delayed by several hours or days, then staying at the station is perhaps not a good choice so if you can afford money then get a room booked in a nearby hotel and take rest or if your home is near, you can go back home and come back when weather is clear.
Control your emotions
In this situation, it is very important for you to control your negative emotions. I know it’s hard but life is difficult all the time. There are difficulties in life, so try to be patient in these situations. Controlling your emotions in these situations will make you mentally strong and tough. Showing anger on the support staff is unjust because they have nothing to do with this no one has control over, weather so it is advisable to be calm in these situations and be kind and empathetic.
Things to do if your flight is cancelled
- Consult with your agent or airline
- Claim for refund
- View your airline cancellation policy
Consult with your agent or airline
If due to unforeseen circumstances your flight got cancelled you should immediately contact your travel agent with whom you bought a ticket and tell him the whole situation. They will guide you and give you the proper steps on what to do. If there are some alternatives and flights, then he will guide you the best. In case you booked a flight directly from the airline, then you should contact the airline and ask if there are any alternative flights going today from another airport. The airline staff is super professional and they will surely guide you.
Claim Refund
In case no other flight is going on the same day or day after, you can claim your refund and ask the airline for a fully refunded ticket. In case the flight delay is too long, you can still ask for a refund. It’s your right.
Check cancellation policy of your airline
Similarly, you should check the cancellation policy of the airline and see the passenger’s rights in case the flight is cancelled.
Conclusion
Flight delays and cancellations cannot be removed. No one can control weather and it is likely to occur again and again, so the best choice is to take all the precautions on your behalf. Some of the things I discussed here can help you, but it is not guaranteed, it will always help you.
