Flight cancellation – What To Do

You never see it coming, you don’t even want to think about it, but yes, flight cancellations happen! Act quick and learn what to do in case of a flight cancellation.

Flights get delayed or even cancelled all the time and if it happens to be yours, here’s what you need to know. It happened to me too and my stories might help others to deal with such issues.

There are 5 steps you should follow. It’s all about acting fast, being calm and knowing your rights as a passenger. Read this article and learn all you need to know about compensation in case of flight cancellation.

My flight was cancelled – what to do now?

First we need to understand that a flight schedule is never guaranteed. and, for various reasons, airline companies can delay or even cancel the flights at any time. Fortunately, it’s not a common practice, though.

I have been through such situation a couple of times myself.

First time in 2012, when I booked with Malev and, a month later, the Hungarian company  closed its business. I really needed to be in Basel and Swiss Airlines saved the day.

Second time was just now, when Air Italy cancelled my flight to Male, Maldives, apparently for operational reasons, whatever that means.

Want to know the secret tips about fast travel and where to stay in Maldives? You should read this article.

So what to do in case of delayed or cancelled flight? The 5 steps you should follow:

1. Don’t panic!

Of course I have panicked big time, though. It’s hard to describe the exact feeling when checking your message on the phone and there is a text starting with:

We regret to inform you(…) your flight was cancelled(…) we apologize for the inconvenience.

And if the cancelled flight is part of a pretty expensive trip to the Maldives, then you have all the reasons to start sweating. The problem is sweating or panicking won’t help at all.

What you should do instead is read the message carefully and see what led to the cancellation.

Was is bankruptcy? Then you need to ask for a full refund. Don’t wait for the refund to be completed first, but re-book the missing link asap.

Ease your new search with Google Flights. 

I was able to get my full refund from Malev, but I booked a new flight with Swiss right away after the cancellation. Any minute of pointless waiting can add up to the cost of a new plane ticket.

Was it technical problems? Was it bad weather? These are reasons independent of the airline but you won’t be left behind.

How about operational reasons to cancel the flight? Then you have more options and we will discuss about these as well.

2. Think fast and contact the airline.

From the moment you read the notice, time is ticking against you. Don’t hesitate but call the airline asap. They will offer you solutions like full refund or a re-book, aka a replacement flight, free of charge. Just don’t expect compensation at this point.

Step 4 is all about flight delay or cancellation calculator as well as the flight delay or cancellation compensation letter.

Now, if you are quick enough, you may be one of the first passengers to choose from the best options. Normally, the airline will try to re-book you on the next available flight.

Long story short, a flight cancellation can attract either a ticket refund or a replacement flight. 

In my case, the cancelled flight was the departure, Milan MXP to Male. The moment I called, I was probably the very first person to call, so I was offered 3 different dates, a full refund or a partial refund if I decided to keep the return flight.

Being a little confused and not sure about it, I said I’d get back later with a call. Almost fatal mistake because 20 minutes later I called again just to be told the early flight I wanted to reserve was now fully booked.

So, what did I do? Yes, I panicked again! But silently.

Fortunately, the lady I was talking to was really kind to ask a supervisor and I was lucky enough to get 2 seats. Trip almost saved!

Tip: be nice and hold your temper.

The airline operators have a hard job dealing with angry people most of the time. It’s not their fault for your cancelled flight, but they can really help you fix it.

3. Do the math and do it fast!

I can’t decide whether this is the 3rd step or should have been the 2nd. But, since you don’t know the exact options from the airline, you need to call before anything else.

Once you know how you stand, it’s time to calculate the extra cost.

See what it means to get a full refund and then to book a completely new flight, perhaps really close to the departure date. Most of the times, short notice flights are expensive.

See if different flight dates won’t mess with your accommodation booking. In case there’s no flexibility there, you need to think carefully what’s best to do.

In my case, it was obvious this flight cancellation was going to attract extra expenses, no matter what. I was thinking to book a different flight from another airline, but the price was double. So I decided to stick with the same company and accept a flight that was leaving 2 days earlier. Then, I booked 2 more days at the hotel. It ended up to be slightly cheaper this way and I gained 2 extra days on a dream island.

Excellent job, you might think. Yes, so I thought at that moment. But  4 days later, Air Italy cancelled my flight again, this time the return flight. So here I am, only 8 days before the trip, booking a completely different airline, a different departure airport and location (I was supposed to leave from Milan, now I leave from London).

Bottom line, in most cases, a flight cancellation attracts an extra cost. It is up yo you to do the math and try to reduce it.

See a quick graph to understand the main idea. Sadly for me, it’s just an example. I wish I was able to book Maldives accommodation this cheap. And, sadly again, the graph does no apply to my Maldives trip now.

Air Italy flight cancellation

2019 is definitely Air Italy’s year in terms of the prize for the most unprofessional airline. And I’m a very patient and understanding person.

They cancelled so many flights this year, that I can’t see any reason we could rely and book again with them.

Anyway, in case you had your flight cancelled and Air Italy is the company, here’s what you need to do for a full refund:

– Call the airline

You received an email  with this subject “URGENT Flight cancellation/change”?

Don’t waste too much time (see the general advice in this article) and contact Air Italy  on +39 0789 52609, option 2 (active every day from 07:30 till 23:00) or via WhatsApp (message only) on +39 345 3060102 (active every day from 09:00 to 21 : 00). I recommend the call.

 – Ask for options

What Air Italy will do is to offer a re-book or a partial or full refund.

The airline will try to offer a replacement flight, but this would add up to your travel days. In my case, I accepted a 2 days earlier departure and I had to make all the necessary arrangements and changes: accommodation, connection flight, long stay parking etc

When you accept the change, there’s no refund possible. Not for the same flight anyway.

Problem is, 4 days later, Air Italy cancelled my return flight as well. Now this was really crazy, as they assured me the return remained the same, hence all the changes.

They offered me another flight, 4 days later than my initial booking. In other words, after 2 flight cancellations, I was supposed to spend 6 more days in the Maldives! Needless to remind you how expensive is to book the Maldives over night.

Read my article about how expensive is to visit the Maldives.

I turned down their offer and asked for a full refund instead. Yes, you are entitled to full refund at this point, even if you accepted another flight at first.

The request was immediately accepted, both outbound and inbound flights were cancelled and I received a full refund confirmation email. It will be something in Italian, with the subject: Conferma Rimborso.

All these happened only 8 days before my trip. But what’s a holiday without hustle and stress and panic and crisis? Perhaps a perfect holiday?? Never heard.

4. Know your rights and claim compensation for financial loss

This is a sensitive subject and I will try to explain the best I can.

In case of delay or  flight cancellation, what the airline will offer is anything but compensation. A full refund is not compensation. 

Still, there are some strong reasons an airline would decide to delay or cancel a flight, like extreme weather or technical difficulties. Therefore, it is very important to know the exact cause of the cancellation, preferably have it in written from the airline. Why? Because you are not entitled to compensation if the airline is not responsible for cancellation.

In order to establish the compensation amount, you can use an online flight delay or cancellation calculator. I cannot recommend you a specific one, but there’s plenty of results on a quick search.

How much compensation am I entitled in case of a flight cancellation? 

You are entitled to compensation if you have been notified 14 days or less prior to the cancelled flight and that can be anywhere between €250 and €600 per person.

€250 – compensation for cancelled short haul flights ( up to 1500 km);

€400 – compensation for cancelled medium haul flights (1500 – 3500 km)

€600 – compensation for cancelled long haul flights (over 3500 km)

The most important detail  here is the timing. If cancellation occurred more than 14 days prior to your flight, then, no, you are not entitled to compensation.

In other words, you could only get compensation only  if the airline informed you 14 days or less before the flight.

I was notified about the cancelled flight 15 days prior the departure, go figure! Italian humor, perhaps.

Want to visit Maldives? Here’s what you  need to know about it.

A good idea would be to check the airline policies before the trip, but let’s face it! who wants to waste time reading impossible contracts instead of planning and anticipating a dream holiday?

5. Learn from experience

Nobody wants to get through all these again, knock on wood. But you need to learn from such experience because there could be a next time.

Being calm will help you take the right decisions and, if you follow these steps, your vacation won’t suffer immensely.

And, don’t forget to enjoy your trip to the maximum! Everything else is just details.

Want to know how to get to Cayo Largo Cuba? Read the story of an amazing trip.