Along with car accidents, final exams, missing a flight ranks high on the list of “The Most Stressful Situations in Life”.
You probably found yourself in an airport because you saw the plane take off without you.
Keep calm. You’ll be able to catch another flight.
If you’re calm and level-headed, you can solve your problem in no more than an hour if you carefully read the four steps.
Step 1: Call the airline immediately
It is important to inform someone if you were left behind if the gate was closed, or any other incident. Don’t waste time talking to random flight attendants or airport security guards. Each airline has its own booth at the airport. Ask the help-desk staff to point you in the right direction. When you ask, make sure to mention the name and airline.
Step 2: Learn Your Options
You should be less than two hours late in the best-case scenario. This allows you to be considered for consideration under the unpublished “flat-tire rule” or “2-hour rule”. You can also be re-booked on a standby flight the same day, in some cases free of charge, but this is at the airline’s discretion. This does not apply if you have missed the previous flight on that day. In such cases, you will need to book another ticket.
In either case, after you have completed the first flight, make sure that you address any connecting flights or hotels in Sliema reservations that may need to be changed.
Step 3: If it’s a connecting flight
This scenario gives you even greater protection if your itinerary is one booking and has a single confirmation number. The airline should book you on the next available flight if the connecting flight is delayed or too short.
This applies even if there are multiple airlines involved. However, it is much easier to deal directly with one airline than with two. In the event of a missed connection, booking all connections with the same airline or with the same alliance is ideal.
Missed connections can happen if you have a multi-ticket itinerary, and each flight is booked separately. If the flight was delayed by the airline, your options are limited. You may have to rebook all of your connecting flights at your own expense. This is not ideal. If you try to create your own itinerary using separate tickets (usually to cut costs), be sure to allow for a longer time between connections.
Step 4: Always Be Polite
Although this is a terrible situation, you still want to help everyone. However, you must be respectful of the airline agent. Depending on how kind you are to them, they may be helpful or not.
Remember that the airline’s policy may not include the ‘flat-tire’ or ‘2-hour rule. If you don’t want the agent to stare blankly at you, you need to be careful about asking for it.
Step 5: Review your travel insurance
Book a new flight and you can be free to do so. If you can prove to the insurance company that you are not at fault, you can get a new flight for free.
Take a moment to review the policy of your insurance company regarding reimbursing flights tickets. Also, consider how you would like to be reached. You won’t have to pay a penny if you just call the insurance company.
If you bought your tickets with a credit card, your company may offer insurance.