What to do when a flight is delayed or cancelled

A delay or cancellation is frustrating, but what you do in the first half hour often decides how the rest of the day goes. Here's a calm order of things to do, and where to find out what you may be owed.

First: get rebooked

When a flight is cancelled or badly delayed, everyone on the plane tries to rebook at once. The quickest routes are usually:

1. The airline's app or website. Many airlines offer rebooking options automatically; check before joining a queue.
2. The phone line or chat, while you stand in the queue at the desk.
3. The transfer or service desk at the airport.

Know what you want before you get to the front: the next flight, a different airport nearby, or a train for shorter distances. Be polite and specific; agents have the most flexibility to help people who make it easy.

Look after yourself

If you're stuck for hours or overnight, ask what the airline provides. Depending on where you are and the rules that apply, airlines may have to provide meals, refreshments, communication and a hotel with transport when you're delayed overnight. Keep receipts for anything you pay for yourself.

Know the main rules

What you're owed depends on where you're flying and with which airline. Three widely used sets of rules:

• European Union (EU261) covers flights departing from an EU airport, and flights arriving in the EU on an EU airline. It provides care during long delays, a choice of refund or rerouting for cancellations, and in many cases fixed compensation for long delays on arrival or late cancellations — unless the cause was extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control, such as severe weather or air traffic control restrictions.
• United Kingdom (UK261) provides similar protections for flights from UK airports and to the UK on UK or EU airlines.
• United States. Airlines must give a refund if a flight is cancelled or significantly changed or delayed and you choose not to travel or to accept the alternative offered. Fixed compensation for delays is generally not required by law, but many airlines publish their own commitments for meals and hotels when the cause is within their control.

Other countries have their own rules. Check the regulator's website for the country you're flying from, and the airline's "conditions of carriage" and customer service commitments.

Refund or reroute?

If your flight is cancelled, you're usually offered a choice between a refund and an alternative flight. Think before accepting a refund: if you still need to travel, a refund may leave you buying an expensive last-minute ticket. Accepting a voucher instead of cash is usually optional.

Claiming afterwards

1. Write down the details: flight number, scheduled and actual times, what you were told about the cause.
2. Keep receipts for meals, hotels and transport.
3. Claim directly with the airline first, using its online form. Many claims are paid without a third party.
4. If refused, check whether there's an approved dispute resolution scheme or regulator for your flight.
5. Check your travel insurance, which may cover delays, missed connections or extra costs the airline doesn't.

Protect the rest of the trip

A late arrival can knock on to hotels, trains and tours. As soon as you know your new arrival time:

• tell the hotel you'll arrive late, so the room isn't released;
• check whether onward trains or transfers can be changed;
• move any time-sensitive bookings.

Elio Travels keeps every booking on one itinerary, so when a flight moves you can see at a glance what else is affected.