Flying tends to be the most unpleasant part of most traveler’s vacations. What can make it even worse is getting to the hours early airport, wrestling with the check-in kiosk to print your boarding pass, rushing through security only to find that your flight has been delayed. Don’t even get us started on delayed flights that cause you to miss your connection.
If you do happen to have a flight delay that causes you to have to change your travel plans, don’t fret. Here are a few things you can do to help get you back on track.
Call Your Airline
Depending on what the cause and the extent of the delay is, some airlines will help you to rebook an onward flight to your final destination. If the delay is the fault of the airline and you must wait a long time for your next flight, sometimes they will provide hotel and food vouchers until your new departure time. This tends to be most people’s first course of action so make sure you are quick as hotel rooms and rebooked flights will fill up fast!
Talk To Your Travel Insurance
If you’ve bought travel insurance to cover your trip, get in touch with a representative to see how they can help. They may be able to reimburse you for a hotel, meals or any other reasonable expenses brought about due to a flight delay. For this you will have needed to purchase your travel insurance before your trip began.
Research Flight Delay Compensation
There are resources out there that deal with compensation for flight delays. Make sure you do your homework before you fly to know which is the best option should you be stuck in this unfortunate situation.
Go It Alone
If you’re not worried about being compensated, are just packing a carry-on and are on a tight time frame you can always choose to go it alone. Talk to a travel agent or booking agent about flying any airline available to get you to your final destination as quickly as possible.
Do Yoga And Relax
If all else fails, take deep breaths, do some yoga or light stretching and try to relax. Maybe take a massage in the airport lounge while you’re waiting for your flight delay to get sorted out. Isn’t that what vacation is all about anyway?
What do you do if your flight gets delayed? Share with us in the comments below!
