what happens when your flight is cancelled due to weather
(CNN) — Bad weather. Figurer glitches. Staffing shortages. Information technology has been a tough slog for some air travelers this year.
What if y'all're one of the unlucky passengers caught up in this? Here are some tips to help travelers navigate the arrangement when flights are delayed or canceled whether by staff shortages, weather condition or other problems:
Avoid getting trapped at the drome
As bad every bit it is to observe out your flight has been delayed for a long time, or worse, canceled, it's better to find out from the condolement of abode or a hotel room and make new arrangements from there.
"Check your flying condition earlier you get the airdrome. Most of these notifications are not happening at the final minute," said Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott's Cheap Flights,. "Save yourself the bulldoze to the airdrome."
Keyes told CNN Travel in an interview late last twelvemonth that yous should sign up for airlines' free text alerts on the condition of flights when you buy your ticket. Y'all should also download your carrier'due south app.
You can also put your airline and flight number directly into a Google search bar to remember the status that way. That's likewise handy for friends or family unit who are on standby to choice you lot up.
Keyes also suggested checking the website FlightAware to track larger flight trends beyond state.
If you're at the drome already
A flight information brandish arrangement shows deviation times at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Aerodrome in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday, December 27.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sometimes, the delays and cancellations happen after you've arrived at the airport. Once the bad news has been delivered, what should you do?
Keyes said to head fast as you lot can to the airline agents' desk-bound -- and become gear up to multitask while you're in line.
Fast is a key word here. "It's going to make a difference who arrives beginning. Information technology's beginning-come, first-serve. Positioning yourself close to the desk tin pay off," Keyes said.
Then call up your carrier while you're waiting. Depending on your spot in line, it might be faster to get through to a call middle. "Whatever happens first, slap-up," he said.
Calls to US domestic numbers might have really long waits. Keyes suggested trying an international call center for your carrier instead.
"Most US-based travelers aren't thinking to call the Canadian help line for Delta. You lot might go through to an agent much quicker. They can all handle your reservations but the same."
Yous tin can also use a cocky-serve kiosk, American Airlines says. "Scan your boarding pass or enter your record locator to see your updated trip details. From in that location you tin also switch your flying and print your new boarding passes."
Attitude and research matter
Passengers wait in line to check in for their flights at the Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Monday, Dec 27.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Whether you're dealing with an amanuensis in person or over the phone, how y'all arroyo things tin can make a big departure. That starts with mental attitude.
"Honey attracts more than flies than vinegar," Keyes said. "Look at this from the airline agents' perspective. They've been dealing with irate customers really since the pandemic began. The agent is the one who has the about ability to assist you.
"Asking nicely and sympathetically is far more than probable to get what you want than being a wiggle nearly it."
He had another tip when it's your turn to talk to an agent virtually making new arrangements: "Come up prepared to offer your own options already. Doing your own inquiry is absolutely helpful."
Your amanuensis can expedite things if you've already looked up new routes and possible suggestions while yous've been waiting. Be ready to explicate what you want.
If you've booked through Expedia or another third-political party site, you'll take to deal through them when in that location's a cancellation.
If price is the same, Keyes suggested yous book directly with the airline. In instance something goes incorrect, "it makes it much more than complicated with multiple sets of policies" when y'all booked via a tertiary political party.
Usa PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, suggests y'all avoid layovers when booking if possible. The more times you stop, the more than chances for something to become wrong.
The grouping also backs upward the advice from Keyes to be nice and polite to agents but also says consumers should exist persistent in trying to go the state of affairs resolved satisfactorily.
Trapped for the night
A adult female and child wait for their flying aslope another traveler at Miami International Airport on Monday, December 27.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
What do y'all do if it looks like you're not going to be able to fly out until the adjacent twenty-four hour period and you're not in your abode city?
"Ask the airline to put you up in a hotel or give yous a hotel voucher. They might do it; they might non. It'southward not required by constabulary," Keyes said.
They're less likely to do it if it's weather related, he said, than if the problem is a mechanical issue with the plane or staffing problems.
What you might get depends on the airline itself and the specific circumstances on why a flight was canceled.
Get to know policies. For instance, Delta Air Lines says information technology will provide a hotel voucher in some circumstances if travel is interrupted for more than four hours afterward the scheduled departure time when the delay is betwixt 10 p.k. to 6 a.thou.
Whatever you practise, at least ask, Keyes said. A voucher for hotels and even ground transport and meals aren't likely to but exist offered.
You should also look up your credit carte du jour information. Keyes said your card might take passenger protections, including free hotel rooms if you lot're stranded and peradventure even cover your nutrient and taxi to the hotel. Look up what practice you need to practice to go reimbursed.
If your flying is delayed instead of outright canceled, you might desire to counterbalance whether to wait at the airport. Depending your personal circumstances, hunkering downwardly there for five or six hours might be easier than going to and from a hotel. Likewise, Keyes said, check whether there is a hotel within the airport.
The Points Guy advises trying to become into an airport lounge if you can, where you tin can recharge your phone and rest more easily.
Refund entitlements for your flight
The Usa Section of Transportation says yous are entitled to a refund of your ticket price because of a cancellation or "pregnant delay" and you lot cull not to travel.
This is the policy regardless of the reason the airlines cancels or delays the flight. However, what "significant delay" remains open to interpretation.
According to the DOT website, "it has not specifically defined what constitutes a 'significant delay.' Whether you lot are entitled to a refund depends on many factors -- including the length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances. DOT determines whether you are entitled to a refund following a significant filibuster on a case-past-instance basis."
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/what-to-do-flight-canceled-delayed/index.html
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