What to do if you missed your flight: effective tips

Traffic jam, failed alarms, wrong time. You can be late for a flight for many reasons. In most cases, tourists give up at this point and look for a ticket for the next date. However, few people know that you can solve this issue without additional costs. OBOZREVATEL has collected 3 steps and 2 life hacks that can help you with this.

• Step one: find out the carrier's policy

It is important to note that different airlines have their own instructions for dealing with passengers who have missed a flight. In most cases, you should first call the customer service or approach the airport staff. This will help you save time and immediately be in the context of the event.

Most likely, you will be offered one of the following options: wait for the next flight and board it as a "backup passenger" or immediately book free seats at a time convenient for you. Both of these options do not require additional costs if you use the services of the same airline. This is called the flat tire rule.

However, some carriers do not support this policy in relation to people who are late for a flight due to their own fault and ask them to buy a new ticket. In order to find out all these nuances, you should call the company's official representatives and explain your situation.

• Step 2: stay at the airport and prepare for the next flight

Your issue is unlikely to be resolved in 10 minutes. Call center employees need to coordinate all the details and only then can they help you. It is best to spend the entire waiting time in the airport lounge. Seats on another flight may become available at any time. If you are far away, you may miss this opportunity. It's unlikely that you'll get a second appointment.

• Step 3: consider other options

Unfortunately, not many airplanes fly to all destinations. Because of this, the next flight may be a week away, which will definitely ruin your plans. However, there's always a way to find cheap tickets for connecting flights. Moreover, an hour before departure, the prices will definitely be the lowest.

Be flexible and try to open yourself up to different options. This will help you resolve the situation if you have not been able to find a solution in cooperation with the airline.

It's not always your fault you're late. Sometimes, due to bad weather, technical or other reasons, a flight can be postponed or canceled. And if your route was with transfers, you immediately lose your tickets unless you know 2 simple life hacks:

1. Call the representatives of the airline whose flight you can't make as soon as you find out about it. This will allow you to transfer your reservation to the next plane without losing money and without any additional charges. Employees of the carriers always try to help you in such situations.

2. Try rescheduling your departure time online on the ticketing website. Most airlines already have this feature, so you can easily change the date or time of departure.