what to do if you miss your plane flight

While missing a connecting flight has always been about the tiptop of nightmares for travelers, the problems associated with them have simply been accentuated because of COVID-nineteen.  Before the pandemic, there were probably several options to get you from point A to point B. Nevertheless, many issues have led to cascading delays and cancellations with airlines non having a way to go you lot to your destination until the next 24-hour interval, or sometimes longer, if you lot miss your connection.

You do everything in your power to forestall it from happening. You brand sure to go to the drome actress early because of the delays at check-in and security. You finally get to your gate and detect a seat, preferably near a ability plug (and non one of these). Yous hope there aren't any yelling children around or adults talking with their phone on speaker. You get-go reading your book on your Kindle or watch some cute video of cats on your telephone to pass the fourth dimension. When it's most boarding time for your flight, in that location's one pocket-sized HUGE problem – there'due south no airplane at the gate. Y'all think, "In that location'southward no way we're leaving on time, simply if nosotros were delayed, wouldn't the airline tell united states of america?" Well, not necessarily.

The dread of knowing you only have 90 minutes to make your connecting flight and who knows how long you're going to be delayed sets in. You'd stand at the counter to ask one of the employees, only you notice the line is already 15 people deep with fellow travelers who already had the same thoughts every bit you. If you're waiting for the airline to let you know about a filibuster, you lot're already Fashion BEHIND THE Bend.

Beingness prepared for a travel delay or counterfoil is just similar getting ready for a snowstorm, hurricane, or pandemic shortage. Yous don't want to exist the person rushing to the store at the terminal minute to stock upwards on milk, bread, water, toilet newspaper (and perhaps alcohol) and all you discover are empty shelves. You lot need to be prepared ahead of time. This means having several essential travel apps fix to go at a moment's notice.

Hither are things you can do when your flight is delayed or canceled that will, hopefully, help you get to your destination:

Be Prepared

The first matter to do is bank check on your flight condition earlier yous leave for the airport. There are many ways to do this but the easiest is to use the airline's app for your phone. I'd suggest downloading this earlier you lot leave. It's easier if yous take your frequent flyer account set up in the app, but it's not necessary to just bank check on flight status.

For the rest of this example, I'll apply a pre-COVID flight we were scheduled to be on from Charlotte to Orlando.  While the flights happened a while ago, the ways to keep yourself prepared haven't changed.

Nosotros were flying on Delta and had a 90-infinitesimal connection in Atlanta. Everything looked fine until we got to the airport – that's when things started to go sideways.

Continue Yourself Informed

Considering nosotros weren't checking bags, we went correct to security and then to our gate. When we settled downward in our seats, I pulled out my telephone to check our flight condition using one of my favorite iPhone travel apps, FlightAware.

Here's a list of the flights

Here is the details of your flight with the conditions satelite

Using the app, it'due south super easy to bank check your flight's status. What I find really useful is the button on the pinnacle of the screen that says "Where is my plane correct now?" With this, you can rails your entering airplane (the aeroplane you volition be getting on) every bit it flies to your airport. This was non what I wanted to see while I was seated at Charlotte Airport (CLT).  (Note: these screenshots are from after the flight)

Then while the plane left on time, Charlotte'south new arrival time was v:xiv PM because of the weather. Considering that our airplane was supposed to leave at 5:xv PM, I knew we would be delayed. We had a 90-minute layover in Atlanta so fifty-fifty with a 45-minute filibuster we should even so brand our adjacent flight, albeit with a dash through the airport. Effectually iv:45 PM, the posted boarding time, I received a text message from Delta telling me the flight was delayed (I knew this virtually 15 minutes before; I had checked on my app). Soon after that, the Delta agents announced our plane would be delayed (as if the concert of telephone letters a minute before wasn't plenty) and our new deviation time would be effectually 6:00 PM. They asked anyone with connecting flights leaving Atlanta before 7:30 PM to approach the counter and then they could piece of work to conform them on dissimilar flights. This was a proactive movement that I don't often see and kudos to the Delta agents for this.

Don't Paint Yourself Into A Corner

I try never to volume the concluding flight of the night and I did retrieve there was at to the lowest degree i, or maybe two, flights from Atlanta to Orlando afterward the 1 we were scheduled to be on. I figured if nosotros missed our connection we could make it onto one of those flights.

I next checked the status of our incoming connecting flight. Sometimes all flights are running late and you have naught to worry about if you arrive late, considering anybody else is, too. No such luck in that location.

Our inbound flight was on time and even arrived early. The bad weather condition was all by u.s..

It looked like our connecting flying would be leaving on time whether we were on information technology or non. Non much I could practice right now. Information technology looked similar we would be fine but I was withal ready.

Everything went in club (as much as these things can during a flight delay) until we boarded our aeroplane in Charlotte. It started off fine – everyone had managed to go into their seats and become all their acquit-on baggage stowed. Only that's when the captain thanked us for our patience and informed us nosotros were on a basis concur. In short, we were all ready to get but didn't have the clearance from Air Traffic Control to get out. The atmospheric condition was all the same not great in Charlotte and we had to expect about 15 minutes to be cleared to fly.

Keep Informed

We eventually were cleared to take off at 6 PM. With the boosted delay, nosotros'd exist at a real take chances of missing our connecting flight.

That storm just wasn't cooperating with our travel plans!

When we hit cruising altitude, the captain told us that despite his attempt to make up some time, he couldn't do much on a short flight since we were flight into a stiff headwind. I was fortunate that the Delta plane nosotros were on had Wi-Fi. This meant that as soon equally we were over 10,000 feet, I could start looking for options.  If the aircraft weren't Wi-Fi-enabled, I would accept been working on options the 2d nosotros landed and could turn off aeroplane mode on my telephone.

Know Your Options

I spent virtually the unabridged flight figuring out our options. Knowing that sometimes you can utilise the official app on the Wi-Fi for free, I was able to do about of what I wanted with but Delta'south app but I would have gladly paid for Wi-Fi access if I needed to; it would be a small price to pay if it helped me get habitation that evening. When I opened the Delta app on my telephone, I immediately received a pop-up box offering to re-volume me on different flights because of my delay. I idea this was a fantastic feature until I was shown the options, all of which were for flights the next 24-hour interval. Staying overnight in Atlanta wasn't the preferred outcome, so I kept looking. I used the app to search flights leaving Atlanta that nighttime. Neither of the later flights to Orlando showed upwards (I gauge they were all sold out) simply there was a flying from Atlanta to Tampa leaving after that night. I filed that abroad in my head, as it'due south only nigh an hour's drive and if need exist, we could rent a car or even Uber back to Orlando.

The Delta App had another first-class feature that showed how to go from your arriving flying to your parting flight. It provided stride-by-step directions with an approximate time. We were departing from unlike even so adjacent terminals. Then we'd take to get from our plane to the underground train over to the next terminal, so to the gate. Information technology was estimated at 10 minutes. I knew exactly how to get there, so in that location would be no wasted fourth dimension.

Hither was my plan for when we landed:

1. Sprint Walk as fast as we could to the gate and hope we make the connection.
2. If we missed the flight, find the nearest Delta Sky Club and see if they could get united states on stand up by for whatever other flights that night to Orlando or fifty-fifty Tampa, since the agents who work at that place tend to exist the most knowledgeable for solving bug. (I had access to the Heaven Order at the time with the American Express Platinum Card.)
3. If there were no flights that night, find a hotel well-nigh the airport so we tin go some sleep before having to wing out at 6 AM the next morning (and keep my receipts to make a claim with my credit card travel delay coverage).

Follow Your Plan (And Know Your Travel Buddy)

While nosotros waited for what felt like forever for our fellow travelers to gather their property and leave the aeroplane, we confirmed our program. We pulled our bags from the overhead and were on our mode. Off the plane, onto the jetway, into the last. Left turn. Observe an escalator to train. Walk downward the escalator to the train and the railroad train doors close.
@!#?@! Sorry not sad for the Q*Bert reference.

Quick determination: should we walk information technology? I looked upward and it said, "Side by side TRAIN l seconds" That was the longest 50 seconds in history. On the railroad train. Off the railroad train. Upward the escalator, walking up (no time to waste), walk the 4 minutes to gate A5.

At this point, I realized that no matter how hard Sharon tried to keep upwards with me, my long legs would get me to the gate earlier her. Using that to my advantage, I merely went, jogging the rest of the way to the gate. A11, A9, A7,  The door is still open up and people are there! Exhale, breathe. About There! A5!

Me: Tin we even so get on the plane?????

Delta Agent: Sure. Where are you coming from?

Me: Charlotte! Gate B18! (breath). My wife is right behind me. Wait a sec.

Delta Amanuensis: Oh, the way yous're huffing there, I figured you lot were coming from the E Gates.

Forgive me for non laughing at her airplane terminal humor at the fourth dimension equally I still was catching my breath and looking for Sharon. She finally arrived, and we were allowed onto the airplane later on having to gate check our carry on bags considering we were told the overhead bins were total (they weren't, but nosotros weren't in the mood to argue).

We spent the adjacent 10 minutes catching our breath (and the next 10 trying not to heave from the guy in our row spitting the juice from his chewing tobacco into a Gatorade bottle he brought with him for just such a purpose. Reminder, delight don't be this guy or gal on the plane). In all, we were grateful we could make it domicile on time with no farther problems.

Final Thoughts

To exist prepared for delays, it helps if you have these things:

• Your smartphone (fully charged)
• The app of the airline you're flying with is installed on your telephone.
• FlightAware

With these tools, you should be able to stay ahead of nearly other travelers. That means you'll take a greater chance to get to your destination with a minimum of inconvenience.

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