The power outage that temporarily brought operations to a halt at London’s Heathrow Airport in March is just the latest major incident to spark widespread flight disruptions.
Whether it’s a fire or a technical meltdown or a weather system that wreaks havoc on schedules, here’s some advice on what to do if your flight is delayed or canceled.
As bad as it is to find out your flight has been delayed for a long time, or worse, canceled, it’s better to find out from the comfort of home or a hotel room.
“Check your flight status before you go the airport. Most of these notifications are not happening at the last minute,” said Scott Keyes, the founder of Going.com. “Save yourself the drive to the airport.”
Other tips from Keyes:
Sometimes, the delays and cancellations happen after you’ve arrived at the airport. Heathrow is instructing travelers to stay away from the airport, but what if you’re elsewhere in the world, hoping to get to London and now stuck in departures?
Keyes said to head as fast as you can to the airline agents’ desk. “It’s going to make a difference who arrives first. It’s first-come, first-serve. Positioning yourself close to the desk can pay off,” Keyes said.
Then you might want to call up your carrier while you’re waiting. It might be faster to get through to a call center. “Whatever happens first, great,” he said.
Other tactics you can try:
Whether you’re dealing with an agent in person or over the phone, how you approach things can make a big difference.
“Honey attracts more flies than vinegar,” Keyes said. “Look at this from the airline agents’ perspective. … The agent is the one who has the most ability to help you. Asking nicely and sympathetically is far more likely to get what you want than being a jerk about it.”
He had another tip when it’s your turn to talk to an agent about making new arrangements: “Come prepared to offer your own options already. Doing your own research is absolutely helpful.”
Other considerations:
Cooperation between airlines could work in your favor.
“When flights are canceled, many airlines have the option of putting you on another carrier’s flight because they have interline agreements,” Lousson Smith, product operations specialist at Going.com, told CNN Travel.
“This means, for example, if Delta is having service interruptions but American is running a flight to your destination, you may be able to get on that flight.”