What To Do When Your Flight’s Delayed

Y.P.H
StayMarta
Published in
3 min readDec 27, 2017

The worst part of traveling is when the unexpected happens and somehow your flight is delayed. When that happens, you have to make the best out of this bad situation. Here are some of the things you can do:

Find out what compensations you can get

Legally, airlines aren’t required to compensate their passengers in any shape or form, unless it’s a more than three-hour delay. However, some airlines might give out meal vouchers or something small to ensure the passengers’ satisfactory. If your flight is delayed until the next morning, some airlines even provide hotel vouchers so that you don’t have to spend the night at the airport — which isn’t ideal, but not too shabby.

Try and get a lounge pass

If your delay is rather short and your airline happens to have its own private lounge, perhaps sweet talking the employees would help. Airline lounges are usually less crowded than the terminal gate, which is nice for those who are looking for some peace and quite. Also, for those who aren’t keen on spending some bucks for food and happen to be peckish, there are some free food and drinks.

Get something to eat

Your delayed flight can be the perfect opportunity for you to grab a bite, especially if you are hungry. Just exchange your money with the local currency — if you don’t have any, or even use your credit card, and get something delicious to cheer yourself up from the boring wait. Besides, plane food is never that great anyway, so why not make the best out of a bad situation and enjoy a nice meal?

Redeem your travel insurance

If you happen to purchase a travel insurance during your trip, you don’t have to fret, especially if your flight is delayed for more than four hours. Immediately call your insurance company as soon as it passes four hours, since most policies might allow you to get a hotel room and some amount for meals. However, most policies are different, so even if you get insurance, make sure to read the entire terms and conditions.

Do some research

Sometimes life just throws you off track with delays and in that case, you have to be prepared. You can use up this time to think about how you’re going to adjust your itinerary, instead of having to sacrifice on visiting the sites you want to see.

Explore the airport and have fun

Use the wifi available at the airport and find out if the airport has any free facilities for passengers, whether it’s a gaming station, a park, or a spa. In fact, most airports have duty free shops, so you can simply explore and perhaps get yourself something nice to turn your frown upside down.

It’s true. Delays suck, but the least you can do is make the best out of the situation, try to enjoy yourself and not ruin your trip. You are out of the house already, anyway, might as well enjoy it and splurge a little if you must.

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