What To Do In The Event of Flight Delays When Travelling With the Family

Whether you’re travelling somewhere local in the UK or to an exotic destination such as Turkey, there’s absolutely nothing worse than a flight delay or cancellation, especially when you have your entire family in tow. Not only does it mean that you’re going to get to your destination later than expected, potentially missing connecting flights and fudging up pre-made arrangements, but it means your children are likely to get grumpy as well, adding a whole other dimension of unpleasantness to the situation. However, just because a delay occurs doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. On the contrary, if you find yourself at the receiving end of a bad delay and it’s the airline’s fault, you actually have quite a few options at your disposal.

Know your rights

As an airline passenger, especially in the EU, you have many rights enshrined by law. One law in particular states that in the event of a delay or cancellation that was outside of your control, that you’re entitled to monetary compensation up to £600. To figure out exactly how much compensation you’re owed, check out this flight delay compensation calculator by AirHelp. This doesn’t just apply to you either; each passenger that was on the flight is entitled to that same compensation. So if you’re traveling as a family of four it’s definitely in your interests to cash in on this compensation. Simply contact a member of the airline staff and inquire, or else contact a company like AirHelp who will do all the heavy lifting for you.

Check your connecting flight

If you’re hit hard by a delay or cancellation and won’t be leaving the airport for at least a couple of hours, it’s worth checking on your connecting flight immediately after you hear the news. If you booked your connecting flight as a package with your first flight then the airline in question will simply book you another flight and ensure that you get to your destination on time. However, if you booked your flights separately, the airline might not be responsible for you missing your flight and so you’ll have to get in contact with the airline responsible for your connecting flight as soon as possible to sort something out.

Grab some food and a hotel

The only thing worse than missing a flight is going hungry and tired because of it – especially if you have your entire family with you. However, there’s no reason you should suffer in silence. Simply approach a member of the airline staff and explain the delay situation to them. They should offer you a number of meal vouchers which you will be able to redeem at any restaurant within the airport. Just make sure that you redeem them then and there; once you leave the airport they will be invalid.

The same goes with a hotel. If you’re severely delayed the airline in question will put you and your family up in a nearby hotel for the night so you can rest while you wait for your next flight. This is definitely way better than sleeping on a cold, hard terminal floor, and means you’ll also have the opportunity to eat a hot breakfast in the hotel lobby before traveling onwards.