Your flight is delayed. You have checked the flight status online.
What does this mean for you as a passenger? What should you do if your flight is delayed? Do you need to come to the airport as planned if your flight is delayed? Or should you wait at home or hotel? Because, as you might already know, there are short, and there are long flight delays. What if it is the latter? Because delays can stretch to 12 or even 24 hours. Will you have to wait at the airport until your airline finds a solution?
It depends. But in most cases the answer is very simple.
Should You Wait or Proceed as Planned?
You have checked the flight status online.
Or you have received an e-mail saying that your flight is delayed. What should you do now? It depends on where are you — at home or at the airport.
1. You Are at the Gate, Waiting for Your Flight
If you’re already at the airport, at the gate, stay there.
Wait for the announcement from the airline and follow your flight’s status.
If the delay is short, you will be travelling very soon. Your flight will be announced, and you will be departing from the same gate. If not, you will receive instructions from airport staff. If the delay is 3+ hours, you can get certain services from the airline for free (it’s called ‘right to care’).
2. You Haven’t Gone Through Airport Security
Are you at the airport, but haven’t gone through airport security?
Stay where you are – at the public zone of the airport. Don’t go through security just yet.
Wait until you know what happens with your flight. Also find out if check in for your flight is delayed or not. If it’s not delayed, and you see that it starts after a short while, you can go through airport security and proceed to your gate. Most probably, delay won’t be long, and you will be travelling soon enough.
What if you have already checked in online? Wait anyway.
Don’t proceed until check in for your flight starts.
3. You Are at Home or Hotel
Find out if check in time has been changed or not.
Call your airline or airport information desk to find out about this. Of course, you can go to the airport and just wait there, even if it’s a long delay, but it’s not necessary. If you learn that check in for your flight is delayed too, you can stay home / at your hotel until the new check in time. No need to wait at the airport. Especially if it’s an early morning flight.
However, if the check in time hasn’t changed, go to the airport as planned. Especially, if you have to do airport check in, and / or you are traveling with a checked bag.
So, in short:
If check in is delayed — wait at home or hotel.
If check in is not delayed — go to the airport as planned.
How to Check Flight Status Online?
There are tree options how you can check your flight’s status online:
- Your airline’s website;
- The airport’s website (the airport from which is your flight);
- Flight trackers (e.g., flightradar24.com).
Always check flight status when you are about to leave for the airport. Especially, if you have an early morning flight. Because, if your flight is heavily delayed (or even cancelled), and you also receive an e-mail with the new check in time, you don’t have to go to the airport as planned. You can have a couple or a few extra hours of sleep. It’s better than sitting at the airport waiting for your delayed flight to depart, don’t you agree?
If you have an early morning flight, check your flight’s status right after you wake up. Also check it right before you are about to leave home or hotel.
Usually travellers find out about the delay:
- From an SMS or e-mail notifying about the delay;
- When checking flight status online;
- Upon arriving at the airport;
- At the gate.
What If You Are Going to Miss Connecting Flight?
If it’s an airline-protected connecting flight, you don’t have to worry.
An airline-protected connecting flight is a connecting flight which consists of two or more flight legs booked as a single booking, under one booking reference number. It can be operated by one airline, and it could be operated by two or more airlines (codeshare partners and flights). As long as it’s booked under one reference number, as a single booking, it’s an airline-protected connecting flight. And you are protected against missed connections.
If you miss your connection, the airline will give you a new flight for free. You won’t have to pay for it. Also you won’t need to search for replacement flights yourself, the airline will do that for you. As it’s an airline-protected connecting flight, the airline is responsible for the connection.
If you have missed a connecting flight, get in touch with your airline at the airport, they will offer assistance. Most likely, you will be entitled to care from the airline, too (see below).
If, on the other hand, it’s a self transfer, then the connection is your responsibility. Self transfer is two or more separately booked flights. It’s often called a DIY connecting flight. You book all the flights yourself, separately. It’s not under one booking, and it’s not protected. You can book separate flights from one airline, or from multiple airlines. In any case, these flights won’t be protected by the airline, as they’re booked separately. If you miss your connection, you will have to book a new flight yourself (and pay for it yourself). Your travel insurance might cover the costs (if it covers trip interruptions).
You aren’t entitled to missed connection compensation if it’s a self transfer.
However, you might have a right to UK flight delay compensation. You might have a right to compensation for that first flight, which was delayed or cancelled last-minute and was the reason for all this trouble. Make sure to double-check that flight yourself or via a flight compensation company.
Right to Care at the Airport
If you have to wait at the airport, you have a right to care.
If there is a flight delay, the airline has to take care of you.
If it’s a 3+ hour delay, the airline must offer you free meals and drinks, two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes. In many cases, all of that is offered in the form of coupons.
If your flight is leaving only on the next day (overnight delay), the airline must provide you a free hotel stay and free transfer to the hotel (and back to the airport). In addition to that, the airline must offer you a free meal and refreshments.
Get in touch with your airline if you haven’t yet received anything.
Featured photo by Ketut Subiyanto