What To Do When Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled: A Step-by-Step Guide
Flight delays and cancellations are stressful, especially when they turn into overnight delays or a domino effect that disrupts your entire trip. I recently experienced a substantial delay myself, and as a professional travel advisor, I want to walk you through exactly what to do, step by step, so you can make informed decisions in the moment.
If this happens to you, the most important first step is to pause, assess the situation, and take a deep breath before reacting. I know how difficult this can be; my family and I are extremely soft-spoken, non-confrontational people, and even we found ourselves understanding how some of those viral airport videos come to be.
That said, as frustrating as the situation is, it’s important to remember that it is almost never the fault of the airline employees you speak with, whether at the airport or over the phone. Remaining calm, polite, and non-confrontational truly matters. While these employees aren’t in control of the disruption itself, they often do have the ability to make the situation better, and you’ll get much further with kindness than with anger.
If anyone is genuinely inappropriate or rude, document it and address it later through the airline’s formal complaint process. In the moment, your goal is resolution.
My Story
My story begins at a place that is both near and dear to my heart, and famous for challenging airport experiences: Orlando International Airport. The gateway to the Most Magical Place on Earth, but sometimes the least magical start or end to your vacation. I travel through Orlando very often, and I’ve been lucky to have almost unanimously positive experiences, but I have heard many stories of delays and cancellations, long waits for bag check and security, and other challenging situations. Up until this, I had experienced some minor delays out of Orlando, including one that pushed my arrival time in Detroit to almost 2 am, but they were only minor annoyances rather than full-blown issues.
This time, however, was different. My family and I were sitting at Disney Springs enjoying a lovely dinner at The Boathouse when we got the text from Delta that our flight had been delayed an hour. I hate to admit it, but we actually celebrated this original delay because we were trying to rush through dinner to make it to The Ganachery for one last sipping chocolate before heading to the airport. Less than five minutes later, another text: now delayed two hours. At this point, we all laughed and decided it could stop now, since we suddenly had plenty of time to finish up at Disney Springs and head to the airport.
We didn’t receive any more texts until we had arrived at the airport, but while still at Disney Springs, I checked the status of our plane on FlightAware (more on this later) and saw that our plane had not even left Detroit yet. That’s when I knew we were potentially in for a major issue that night.
Shortly after dropping our bags, where we confirmed that our flight’s departure time was still the same, we received another text: this time delayed by another two hours. At this point, our expected departure time was 11:35 pm. We settled into the Delta Sky Club until they closed, mentally preparing for a long night ahead. The lounge closed at 9:30 pm, shortly after which we got another text: a change in gate. Then, another 30 minutes later, a new departure time of 12:45 am. At 10:30 pm, a new delay to 1:30 am, and yet another change in gate.
At this point, the gate agents informed us that our plane had taken off from Detroit with a new crew, and they were confident they would get us home that night, albeit very, very late. We celebrated, until the next text came: a delay of “720 minutes,” as the text read, to 1:30 pm the next day. Ugh.
At this point, we received a text and email from Delta offering us hotel vouchers. We talked to the gate agents to see where our bags were going to be and started the process of heading over to the hotel Delta provided. The hotel staff was incredibly kind, the hotel was clean and new, and we did get home the next day; though not without some boarding-pass drama and another nearly two-hour delay.
What to do if this happens to you
While hopefully you never find yourself in a situation like this, delays and cancellations are an unfortunate reality of travel. If you do experience something like this, here are some recommendations and information to help make it at least a little less painful.
First Steps
Where to get information
An email or text message from the airline will often be the first notification of the delay or cancellation, though this isn’t always the case.
Your airline’s app or website will often be another way to notify you about the delay or cancellation. The app will often also provide information about how to rebook your flight if necessary.
If you know of a delay, sometimes the FlightAware flight tracking website will update sooner than the airline’s app, and you can also use it to see where your plane is. You can look up your flight by flight number, or go to the flight finder tool, type in your departure and arrival airports, and then click on your flight.
How to get assistance
Sometimes, the delay or cancellation has a clear-cut solution: a convenient flight rebooking from the app, or a short delay that resolves without issue. If this is not the case, call the airline immediately or go to the airline’s help desk at the airport. If you have access to your airline’s lounge, there are often agents available there, and they typically have more information and more flexibility than the ticketing or bag-drop agents.
Call or seek out the highest level of assistance you have access to based on your airline status or any airline credit cards you hold. For example, Delta has special phone lines for travelers with higher levels of status. If you have access to these, use them.
If you are faced with a substantial delay or cancellation, make sure to look at all options before cancelling or rebooking your flight. My initial instinct in our situation was to rebook onto the 6 am flight the next morning, but by 6 pm that night, the soonest flight we could take if we rebooked was already the next afternoon. By 10 pm that night, it was the next evening. Once the final delay happened, the next flight with availability was a full day later.
Document everything that happens, including screenshots of delays, further disruptions, and any conversations with airline staff that are particularly positive or negative. For example, the next day, we were unable to scan our boarding passes with CLEAR to get through security, since Delta had us use our original boarding passes, which were issued for the day prior. Delta did not inform us that this could cause an issue at security, and this required us to leave the checkpoint and try to find someone to help, which was nearly impossible with lines snaked around the check-in area for both regular bag drop and Sky Priority. We eventually found a Delta Red Coat (a high-level customer service agent) who was circulating and helping travelers. He told us that TSA should be aware of the issue and to ask for a supervisor if needed. We eventually made it through, but this was very difficult and contributed to our later complaint to Delta about the situation.
Make sure to keep any receipts of costs you incur that could be eligible for reimbursement later.
How to be proactive and watch for potential disruptions or further disruptions
As I mentioned earlier, as soon as I saw that our flight was delayed for the second time, I checked FlightAware to see where our plane was. I monitored this throughout the evening, and this ended up being the clearest indicator that the delay was going to be longer than what was being communicated.
If you call the airline, they are sometimes able to tell you the reason for the delay and the expected path to resolution. I called Delta while still at Disney Springs when I saw that our plane still hadn’t left Detroit and was scheduled to arrive in Orlando after our original departure time. The agent acknowledged that the situation didn’t look right but couldn’t provide additional information beyond confirming that computer issues caused the initial delay. In some cases, however, agents can see whether additional delays are likely or whether a solution has been found, which can help you plan more effectively.
Even if your flight continues to be delayed, it is wise to head to the airport sooner rather than later, as airlines are able to move up your scheduled departure even after delaying it if a solution is found, like a new plane or flight crew.
For us, the writing was on the wall that we were most likely either getting home extremely late, or not until the next day. While we didn’t know for sure and couldn’t make any concrete plans, we did start to make contingency plans and figure out our potential options. While the ultimate overnight delay was still incredibly unpleasant, it did help to have a rough plan of how we would handle it.
Finally, familiarize yourself with your airline’s policies regarding meal vouchers, hotel vouchers, and compensation. If you don’t automatically receive something you believe you are entitled to, contact the airline and make sure the appropriate vouchers are issued.
Airline and Government Requirements
There are two types of delays and cancellations: controllable and uncontrollable. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, controllable delays and cancellations are defined as “a delay or cancellation caused by the airline,” including examples such as maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading, and fueling. Regardless of the reason, if an airline cancels or significantly changes your flight, they are required to provide a refund to any passenger who does not accept the offered alternative, including for non-refundable tickets.
The Department of Transportation publishes a dashboard outlining what each airline has committed to offering passengers in the case of a controllable delay or cancellation, which can be found here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-cancellation-delay-dashboard. Airlines are not required to provide cash or voucher compensation for delays or cancellations.
In the EU, airlines are required to provide assistance, including food and hotel vouchers, as well as compensation, if you arrive over 3 hours late due to factors that are controllable by the airline. Compensation depends on the length of the flight, and ranges from 250-600 Euros.
After you return home
Once you return home and have some time to decompress from the situation, you can look at your options for reimbursement and compensation, if applicable.
First, if you are eligible for reimbursement or compensation directly through the airline, start there and submit any required receipts. If the airline does not offer reimbursement, you may still be eligible through travel insurance or your credit card. Many credit cards include some level of trip delay or interruption coverage when you purchase the ticket on that card, so it’s worth reviewing what protections may apply. In our case, we purchased this ticket using a Delta American Express card and submitted a request for reimbursement for several additional expenses through that coverage.
Finally, if you experienced a cancellation or delay that was within the airline’s control and significantly impacted your travel plans, or if you have concerns about how the situation was handled, it is reasonable to respectfully submit a complaint requesting goodwill compensation. The likelihood of receiving this type of reimbursement varies widely based on the airline, your status, and your class of service, but if you experienced a legitimate disruption, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
In our situation, my family each submitted calm, factual, and respectful complaints, as we encountered several significant issues beyond what I’ve even described here. We did receive goodwill compensation in varying amounts due to the severity of the disruption, which was very much appreciated.
Final Thoughts
Flight delays and cancellations are never pleasant, and no amount of preparation makes them enjoyable. But understanding your options, staying calm in the moment, and knowing where to turn for help can make a difficult situation far more manageable. While every disruption is different, having a plan, or at least a framework for decision-making, can go a long way toward reducing stress when things don’t go as planned.
If you ever want support from someone who plans for the realities of travel, not just the ideal version, I’m always happy to help.