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Flight delayed or cancelled: checklist

What to do straight away and what to keep: the official reason, queue and call in parallel, alternatives, meals and hotel, documents and the claim afterwards.

Items inside: 14

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Get the official reason and the new time
At the desk or in the app rather than from rumours in the queue. Rights and strategy both depend on the reason.

The reason for the delay defines what the carrier owes you, which is why you get it officially and early.
Join the queue and call at the same time
The airline's phone line and chat are often faster than the desk. Do both at once rather than in sequence.
Look up alternative flights yourself
Arriving at the desk with a specific option beats waiting for an offer. Check partner airlines too.
Photograph the board, boarding pass and notifications
With times and dates. A week later this is your only evidence of what happened and when.

A photo of the board is evidence that cannot be obtained afterwards and is almost always required.
Get written confirmation of the delay
A stamp, a certificate, a message in the app. A verbal \u201cthree more hours\u201d is useless for a claim.
Ask about meals, communication and a hotel
The entitlement often exists but is not offered. If refused, get the refusal in writing and keep your receipts.
Keep every receipt
Food, transport, hotel, phone. Reimbursement follows documents, not your account of what you spent.
Mention your connection immediately There is a connection
Rules for a through ticket differ from separate ones. It decides who rebooks you.
Find out where your baggage is
With a cancellation or a rebooking, baggage can travel its own route. Ask and write down the answer.
Check the consequences of buying your own ticket
Sometimes it is reimbursed, sometimes it releases the carrier from its duties. Ask before buying, not after.
Check what your insurance covers
Delay, cancellation, missed connection, accommodation. The policy and the carrier are separate grounds, and both can apply.
Tell the people expecting you
A meeting, accommodation, a transfer, a car hire. Some bookings move for free if you tell them promptly.
Put the documents in one folder immediately
Photograph the receipts the same day: in a month half will have faded and the messages will be lost.
File the claim on time and in facts
Flight number, date, scheduled and actual times, reason, costs. A refusal is not always final — there is an appeal.

A delayed flight is settled at the desk and in the paperwork

When a flight is delayed or cancelled you have two parallel tasks: getting to your destination and preserving your right to compensation. The first is usually won by whoever reached the desk or the phone line first. The second is won with documents collected on the spot, because later they cannot be recreated.

Rules differ by country, carrier and the reason for the disruption. The general order is the same: get the official reason and status, record everything in writing, claim what you are owed now and file the claim later.

The first half hour

Step	Why immediately
Get the official reason and new time	Rights and strategy both depend on the reason
Queue and call at the same time	The phone line is often faster than the desk
Look up alternative flights yourself	Arriving with a specific option works better
Photograph the board and your boarding pass	Evidence you will not have later
Ask about meals and a hotel	The entitlement often exists but is not offered

The documents you will need later

Boarding pass and booking, written confirmation of the delay or cancellation, receipts for food, transport and accommodation, correspondence with the airline, photos of the board with the times. Put everything in one folder on your phone immediately: in a month half the receipts will have faded and the messages will be lost.

About alternatives

Sometimes a train, a bus or another airline is faster. Before buying a ticket yourself, check how that affects your rights: buying independently sometimes releases the carrier from its obligations and sometimes is reimbursed.

If you have a connection, say so straight away: the rules for a through ticket differ from those for separate ones.

The compensation claim

Filed after the trip, within the carrier’s or regulator’s deadlines, with documents attached. Write in facts: flight number, date, scheduled and actual times, the reason, what it cost you. A refusal is not always final: many have an appeals procedure.

When the situation is under control

The reason and new time are official, you are both in the queue and on the phone, alternatives have been checked, whatever you are owed on the spot has been received or the refusal recorded, documents and receipts are in one folder, and the claim is filed in time.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

Get the official reason and the new time, join the queue while also calling the airline, look up alternatives yourself, ask about meals and accommodation, and photograph the board and your boarding pass. Keep every receipt and written confirmation — the claim is filed after the trip.

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