What to Do if Your Flight Gets Delayed

What to Do if Your Flight Gets Delayed

When you’re heading off on the holiday of your dreams or perhaps returning back home from a stressful business trip, the last thing you want to hear is that your flight has been delayed or cancelled. There are lots of reasons why a flight might be cancelled – such as last-minute changes to flight schedules, staff shortages, maintenance issues, weather conditions, and so on. No matter the reason, it’s always frustrating for the affected travellers. In this article we’ll look at what to do if your flight gets delayed and how you can get help with flight delays uk compensation using AirHelp.

• Before You Travel – Be Prepared

Before you even head to the airport, do what you can to be as prepared as possible. If you can, always book directly through the airline instead of using a travel agency as that will make it easier to make arrangements in the case of a flight delay or cancellation. If you are booking several flights, book them all together as this will also help you in the case of any delays. It’s a good idea to read the airline’s policies and information about cancellations and delays before booking too but there are UK laws in place to protect travellers too. 

Check in online as soon as the check-in opens (you usually get an email or text message notification) and keep checking the flight status before heading to the airport. This is usually best done via your airline’s mobile app. 

Ensure that you have all your necessary travel documentation with you and, if possible, travel with carry-on luggage only as this will help you skip the baggage drop lines at the airport and will remove the risk of luggage being lost. If you have a connecting flight and one of the flights gets cancelled, checked in bags can sometimes end up at the wrong destination or arrive at the wrong time. 

• Flight Delay Compensation in the UK

Flight delays are common. Often there are shorter delays (up to 3 hours) that don’t entitle you to any compensation, but some airlines will offer you some vouchers to spend in the airport to buy something to eat or drink for example. Sometimes, the delay is not due to a fault of the airline – like dangerous weather conditions, and then you are not likely to be compensated for the delay. 

If your flight has been delayed and it’s due to a fault of the airline though, you might have the right to compensation and might be able to claim up to £520 flight delay compensation. There is legislation for this with a few conditions that must be met. One is that you arrive at your destination more than three hours later than scheduled. The travel distance and the time delayed will impact how much compensation you can get. 

• Other Things You Might Be Entitled To

According to UK law, there are other essentials that you might be entitled to if your flight is delayed for more than three hours.

This includes meals and refreshments during the delay, access to communication, and sometimes a hotel room and transport if overnight accommodation is necessary. Sometimes the airline will be great at offering you these things and sometimes it can be a bit challenging getting what you are entitled to which is why it’s so important to be aware of your rights. 

If your flight delay is over five hours, you are also entitled to a full or partial refund and a return flight to where you departed from, if necessary. 

If your new flight means an upgrade or downgrade, there are rules for this too. Any upgrades cannot be charged for but if your ticket is downgraded, you can get partially reimbursed for the price that you paid.

Sometimes when your flight is delayed, the airline might offer flight vouchers as compensation. Always check that you are not waiving any rights to claim compensation by accepting these. You might prefer to get your compensation in actual money instead which you are legally entitled to.

• How to Claim Flight Delay Compensation

While you’re experiencing the delay, keep track of everything that’s happening. Find out why the delay happened and gather proof of the delay and make notes of any timings. Keep your receipts, take photos, and don’t sign anything that might waive your rights. 

Claiming flight delay compensation can seem daunting but there are companies, such as AirHelp, available that can do the work for you and they’ll only charge you when your claim is successful. They’ll submit the claim for you and will deal with the airline so that you don’t have to. The delay itself is sure to have been stressful enough!

| Article by Peter Frank.