Know your rights: What to do if your holiday flight gets canceled or delayed

If you’re heading to the airport for your holiday travel, it’s a good idea to know what your rights are as a passenger.

Travel during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays can be even more stressful than usual with increased chances of bad weather and less room in people’s schedules for delays and cancellations.

Experts recommend that you download your airline’s app, sign up for text alerts for your flight, and check the status of your flight even before you get to the airport.

Once you’re there, if you learn your flight is canceled, line up for the airline agent’s desk as soon as possible. Time is of the essence; getting rebooked is first-come, first-served.

While you’re in line, travel experts suggest also calling the airline to see if you get served faster that way. If the U.S. number has a really long wait time, you might want to try an international number, like the Canadian 1-800 number for your airline.

They also advise doing your research while you wait in line. You or another member of your party can look up new flights — including some options on other airlines or from nearby airports — so you’re ready to (nicely) explain what you need when you get to an agent. A warning: some low-cost airlines, like Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest, and Spirit generally do not rebook on other carriers.

Experts also suggest asking for hotel and meal vouchers if you’re stuck overnight. Often, airline agents won’t volunteer these options and it’s always worth asking for them. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a new dashboard that tracks what airlines have committed to do if there’s a cancellation or delay within the airline’s control (not weather). The dashboard at FlightRights.gov explains what your airline will provide in different scenarios, like if you’re waiting three hours or more for a new flight.

If your flight is cancelled, most airlines will rebook you for free on the next available flight as long as it has room, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. If that doesn’t work for you and you want to cancel the trip, you are entitled to a full refund, including bag fees, seat upgrades, and other extras. The USDOT says travelers do not need to take vouchers for future travel and can demand that refund in the form they paid. This even applies to non-refundable tickets.

A lot of travel agents also recommend travel insurance around the holidays. Even if you didn’t get it when you booked, you can buy some types of travel insurance up to 24 hours before your trip. A few companies even offer limited insurance coverage, like emergency medical and transportation benefits, the day of your flight, as long as you haven’t departed yet.

“Travel insurance, especially if I’m going overseas… that has paid off a couple of times,” traveler Lona Robertson said. “You know, you never know when something is going to go wrong. And it really is very convenient to have… it’s kind of a hassle to file the claim, but you get your money back.”

Remember, if you booked with a third-party travel site like Expedia, you need to rebook through them.

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