What to do when your flight gets cancelled, changed, disrupted or you get bumped off it!

I was a holiday rep for around 10 years and before that I worked in the alps as a ski host. Then I went to work at sea on cruise ships. When it comes to disruption, I can never say I have seen it all, but I have seen a lot and had my fare share of bad days created by flights being changed. So where to start…

NOBODY PANIC! What is the worst that can happen? Death, I guess! and so far nobody has died with a delay. Travellers can end up totally freaking out at things they have absolutely no control over. All of the ‘What if’ questions start popping into heads. All of the worst case scenarios go round and round.

Then the flight is back up and running with a little delay. So my advise to you is firstly breathe. Try to relax. There will be a team of people in the background trying to make your holiday happen.

Even if the flight is totally cancelled, there will be plans in place, if you have booked a package, to get you to your destination. Even where low cost airlines are concerned, book the earliest outbound flight you can as these are the ones least likely to get delayed or be cancelled and try to ensure there are other aircraft from that carrier going to your destination on the same day. That way you can normally travel, albeit a little later and get your holiday started.

One time I was due to sail from Corfu on holiday. The sky was black and there were strong winds and a storm had settled over the island. We circled for around 40 minutes before the Pilot said that we were going to Thesoloniki instead and wait to see if the situation changed with the storm. There were lots of TUI planes all diverted and we refuelled and sat in the plane for another hour. Eventually we were sent to Athens and had 5* accommodation for 2 nights while the ship made its way through very stormy conditions to Piraeus where we joined the ship. Every cloud has a silver lining and I had a great time seeing the sights of Athens. Nice hotel room great Greek food and nobody that was diverted was seasick! When we got on the ship some people ere disembarking as the sailing from Corfu was horrendous and they had asked to get off and fly home. This was a real shame as we had a great smooth down to Sharm El Sheikh.

Getting bumped off your flight is truly great if you are not planning to join a ship as the airline make it worth your while. Cash, upgrades and additional benefits for future trips are all offered as an incentive. If nobody takes the offer to travel later then people are just bumped off. This is the worst feeling as you know someone else is sitting in your seat and is going to get to join their holiday. While you have the stress of wondering what next. This also normally ends well as people should always arrive the day before the ship sails and have an overnight. Always try to plan for the worst! Or call me and let me help you plan for the best. Adrian’s direct line 03333002480