How to Cope With Flight Delays

I imagine there aren't that many things that are as gutting as a flight delay or cancellation. Here you are, you've booked a flight in sync with your travel itinerary, and then you get to the airport and a flight delay greets you. It just throws a spanner in the works.

To be fair to the airliners though, there are a number of reasons why your flight might get delayed, ranging from unpredictable weather, technical glitches, airport security problems to congested airways

The common result one sees at the airport when a flight gets canceled or delayed is a scene of disappointment, which quickly progresses to frustration, as many of the passengers didn't exactly make an In-Case-of-Flight-Delay plan.

There's not much you can do when a flight gets canceled - you either have to try to get aboard another flight or just wait it out till your flight is ready to go. Kind of sad, considering that your travel itinerary will be irrevocably marred going forward.

Now to the things you can do to cope or keep you from totally flipping out:

Check The Weather Report

It is quite easy - and advisable - to check the weather report for your scheduled flight period. Check to know if there will be a storm or any weather issues. Say you're flying within Nigeria during the rainy season, odds are that a flight will be more likely to get delayed due to thunderstorms that time of the year.

Check Other Flight Plans For Your Route

You should endeavour to check other airlines flying the route you're going at that period. This is so you know about other available options should you want to get on another flight to your destination if they are available when your original flight is canceled. You may need to find a way to get your ticket transferred from the current airline to the next or you may have to book the other flight and ask for a refund from the current airline later.

Consider Booking a Hotel Near the Airport

A common reason why people get frustrated with flight delays is because they usually have no fall back plan as regards where to stay till the flight is cleared to take off, especially if it is at night. One way to preempt this is to book a hotel near the airport - one that lets you pay on arrival, so that you can quickly get on a taxi and lodge there for the night if the need arises, or call later to cancel if not.

Check the Airline's Website

Chances are, in the event of a flight delay, the airline's phone lines will be unreachable as many people would be trying to call them. Usually, the website should get updated with relevant info regarding all flight per time, and you can take advantage of that.

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