Despite the fact that airlines try to follow flight schedules as much as possible, flight changes or even cancellations are a relatively common practice.

Aviation depends on many factors such as delayed deliveries of new aircraft from manufacturers or even just bad weather during which it is impossible to fly.

We have experienced many changes and cancellations first hand and in this article we will share our experiences with you.

How do I find out about a change to my flight?

The airline is always obliged to inform passengers of any changes as soon as it becomes aware of them.

Usually you will receive the information in the email you entered when you bought your ticket (check your spam folder regularly), sometimes the airline will also send a message to your phone number.

If the airline has a mobile app, we recommend downloading it - sometimes flight change notifications are also sent as notifications via the app.

However, it's definitely worth checking your booking manually from time to time, either on the airline's website or with the retailer you booked the flight with.

How to do it? We describe how to do it in the article Checking flight bookings.

Change of flight schedule or cancellation?

In practice, you will encounter two situations - changing times or cancelling a flight completely.

Sometimes it may be just a few minutes, other times the flight may even be moved to another date.

Less often, there is a complete cancellation of the flight. However, the procedure in this case is more or less the same as for a time change.

In some cases, you may be compensated for a flight change up to 600 eur:

• if you fly from an EU airport on any airline
• if you fly anywhere with an EU registered airline
• if the airline informs you of the change less than 14 days before departure and if you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours late
• For detailed instructions, see How to get compensation for a delayed flight?

Change more than one day before departure

Most often, changes to flight schedules and times occur between 1-3 months before departure.

In this case, you have three choices:

• Do nothing. If the time change is only cosmetic (often +- 10 minutes) or you are more comfortable with the new times than the old ones, then do nothing. The airline will automatically re-book you on the new flight anyway. Some airlines require confirmation of this change via a link they usually send in an email.
• Find a different route. If the new times don't suit you, but you also need to fly, the airline must offer to change to another route, sometimes even to another airline.
• Get your money back. If the new times don't suit you and you don't need to fly, you can request cancellation of the entire flight and a full refund.

Finding another route

Some major airlines allow passengers to find an alternate flight on their mobile app or on the web (via a link sent in the flight change email), or automatically rebook them on an alternate flight.

If you are not happy with the automatic re-booking, you must then contact the airline and request an alternative change.

I've had great personal experience with how airlines approach flight changes with Lufthansa (and others in the LH Group, such as Austrian and Swiss). I have always been able to find the replacement flight myself in the app.

The rules for rebooking to another flight are not universal and each airline has its own. But in practice they apply:

• the airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible.
• offer a free alternative flight
• to handle the rebooking to another partner airline yourself
• in the case of refunds, they must always offer real money, not just credits for future ticket purchases

Conversely, the airline may not comply with these requirements:

• postpone the flight time back so that you spend the originally planned time at the destination
• rebook you on a flight to a completely different city (some airlines allow this, such as Wizz Air)

Especially with the big airlines, there is much more flexibility - they have more flights and more partner airlines to which they can also rebook you.

There tends to be less variability with low-cost airlines or very small airlines.

Rescheduling at the airport

Airlines can cancel or delay a flight even minutes before it is scheduled to depart.

The most common reason is bad weather or a technical fault on the aircraft.

In this case, changing your flight ticket is easy - you will always deal with the airline staff directly on the spot.

The airline must arrange an alternative flight to your final destination, either on a different route with other companies or perhaps a day later. In this case, the airline is also obliged to provide meals and a hotel.

• ℹ️ On this website we describe our experience of getting from the airport to the city centre and recommend top attractions to visit around the world.

How do I contact the airline?

These are the most common ways to contact an airline:

• ✅ by phone
  • in the vast majority of cases the fastest solution
  • often the only possible solution, many airlines do not allow any other contact
  • some airlines (I had a bad experience with Air Mauritius for example) do not have a free phone line, so you have no choice but to call abroad at high charges
• ✅ via web/mobile app
  • especially the big airlines often allow you to change via "Manage Booking" etc., where you can choose the flight yourself
  • for smaller airlines this option is not usually available
• ➖ via social networks
  • if you don't feel like phoning, you can try contacting the official airline profiles on Facebook / Messenger / Instagram
  • sometimes airline agents respond quickly and are able to solve the problem (I have had good experience with TAP)
  • however, this option is not always available and does not always work reliably
• ❌ e-mail
  • this option is recommended only if you have a long time before departure
  • airlines often respond to emails after a few weeks or even not at all

What to do in case of airline bankruptcy

This is a situation where the passenger usually has almost no enforceable rights.

• You must arrange your own replacement flight at your own expense
• you will not get your money back from the bankrupt airline
• your only chance is to apply for a "chargeback" from your bank or card issuer or to have insurance against the company's bankruptcy

Frequently asked questions

What if the change affects only one segment?

You can request a change to the whole booking, not just one specific flight.

Can the airline rebook me on a worse connection?

Yes, you may be offered an alternative with an inferior airline (for example, with worse seat spacing). If the change does not suit you, you can ask the airline and another alternative if available.

Can I refuse the proposed changes?

Yes, if no alternative suits you, you can refuse everything and request a full refund.