Flight delays are no big deal these days and for someone who is a regular traveler; this is quite a case frequent in months. Have you been in a situation of flight delay ever? If so, how did you cope with it? There are several reasons behind flight delay from air traffic control issues, crew problems, and unfavorable weather to delayed aircraft, mechanical and airport security. If ever again you are stuck in a situation of delayed flight, learn how to deal with airport delays here. Keep reading.
Keep a weather check
You need not be an AI expert to have a check on weather predictions and know when a thunderstorm might affect your travel. Just keep watching the weather conditions 3-4 days prior to your travel to have an idea about the weather that day. In winters, no excuse can be accepted for not keeping a check on the weather conditions. Weather forecasting has become more reliable before 2-3 days of travel. We agree summer storm is like someone knocking at the door when least expected. However, staying informed means staying safe.
Get a hotel reservation
What to do during a flight delay? If you get any signs of flight delay or cancellation, book a hotel room to have a safe accommodation in case it takes long hours to reschedule. There are hotels that don’t charge a booking amount on reservations. So, you can easily cancel without any loss of money if your flight takes off at the reasonable time. However, check with the hotel staff while booking about their cancellation and deduction policies. Try looking for airport hotels as most of them have shuttle services for the customers traveling to the airport. This way you can also save on rental cabs.
Suggested Read: 7 Tips to Keep in Mind before Flying Internationally
Keep your cellphone preprogrammed
You won’t want messing up with your phone finding numbers at the last minute during a delayed flight. Moreover, you don’t have an elephant’s site to memorize all the numbers – from the reservation website to the can service agency. The best thing to do is save all the contacts in your mobile phone and keep it in the recent call logs so you can easily find the numbers when in need. Save the airline’s contact number, travel agent (if any) and car rental agencies offering drop-off services near your area. Even if your travel agent hasn’t booked your current tickets, he can get you out of this unexpected situation.
Know the alternatives
On knowing the reason of flight delay, if things seem to get more problematic, make sure you know about alternate flights and airlines offering the best price. If you can’t all of this, just browse for some trusted flight reservation agencies like Indian Eagle and call them to find out the best option at reasonable price. Being active can make you stay ahead of the other 100 passengers still on hold. If there are a couple of flights within 2-3 hours of your original airline, you can transfer your air ticket to the next airline. All you need to do to is get to the airline desk and ask for a sign-off from the existing (delayed) airline and ask them to transfer your ticket to the next airline. This way you can get a tentative reservation in the next flight. It is the best solution for flight delay.
Also Read: Know How Early You Should Reach the Airport to Board a Flight
Stay updated by the airline’s app or website
Busy airline customer support centers and lagging websites is a thing of the past now. Nowadays, you get a direct text message and email straight to your mobile number and email account respectively about any changes in the flight. On receiving any such message indicating something’s wrong, you can instantly check the airline’s website or app to get the latest flight updates.
Reschedule before time
During winters when storm is a general reason behind flight delays, several airlines offer travelers rebooking without any penalty. If they know about the possibility of flight delay or cancellation, you are likely to save the rescheduling amount. Just make sure you make it quick – call them before time and get to choose your alternative itineraries.
Buy travel insurance
Not many of us take the travel insurance thing seriously while booking flight tickets but it is a significant coverage you should have in times of flight delay. Certain travel insurance policies cover the charges of accommodation, meals and some other expenses in relation to the delay. However, if a storm occurs before you buy travel insurance, it will remain excluded from the coverage policy.
Now that you are aware of how to deal with airport delays, you can easily tackle a similar situation of flight delay or cancellation.
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