If you missed your plane. What to do?

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Being late for check-in for direct flight

The most unpleasant situation that can arise. Regardless of the reason – traffic jam, broken car or bus, confused date or overslept passenger – you should still be prepared for the fact that the situation will not be resolved without additional costs.

To put it quite simply – you have to pay a fine. To do this, you need to contact an intermediary, or go to the counter of the airline from which the ticket was purchased. The second option is much easier, because in this case everything will be solved much faster. After explaining the reason, it remains to wait for the announced amount of the fine. The cheaper the ticket – the more it is.

After paying the fine, you will be given a new ticket for the next flight, which can be registered without any delay, right there. In any case, – this option will be cheaper than buying a new ticket.

If this was not the only flight, and you were waiting for a transfer, then you will have to restore the full ticket, including transit. Naturally, this is much more expensive than a simple payment of a fine, but according to international air transportation standards, if there is no passenger on the first flight, the transfer is canceled.

Important: If you miss your plane with a ticket purchased under a promotion or a special rate, then the exchange with payment of the fine in this case will be impossible. You will have to buy a new ticket paying its full cost.

Missed connecting flight

at least two, and one of them is considered positive, despite the fact of the missed departure.

This is about being late for a connecting flight, due to delayed departure of the first plane. There may be a lot of reasons: weather conditions, inconsistencies in schedules, and so on.

In this case, the airline, and only it, is obliged to take all responsibility for the situation that has arisen. In this case, a passenger who is late for a connecting flight through no fault of his own is obliged to exchange the ticket without fines, penalties and other costs on the part of the passenger. At the same time, the passenger himself is entitled to a number of compensations, depending on the waiting time for the next flight.

These compensations are regulated by international laws on air transportation, therefore, at any airport, the passenger must demand the following:

If the waiting time for a flight is from 2 to 4 hours, then the airline provides two free phone calls to relatives or at work, free soft drinks and access to the mother's room (if you are traveling with a small child);
If the wait is from 4 to 8 hours, then the airline must pay for a set lunch or dinner at any of the cafes located within the airport terminal;
If the wait exceeds 8 hours, then the passenger has the right to request a room at the nearest hotel with a free taxi transfer. In case of cancellation of the room, the passenger must be fed every 6 hours, up to the departure time.

Unfortunately for the passenger, being late for a connecting flight may also happen through his fault. Most often – because of, that the passenger is trite to get lost in an unfamiliar airport terminal. Without any irony, this is considered one of the most common reasons for being late for flights in world practice, therefore, for such a situation, you need your own procedure.

First, if you understand that you are lost and cannot find your gate to the exit to the plane, you must immediately contact the airport employee and explain your situation. Almost all of them have radio communication, and, if necessary, will warn colleagues that the passenger is late.

Secondly, if you are late for the flight, then you should not panic, but just go to your airline counter and explain everything. People who are accustomed to such situations work there, so long explanations will not be required.

Most often, the passenger will have to pay a fine similar to that paid for being late to check-in a direct flight. The scheme is the same – the cheaper, the more expensive, but all the same, the total amount will be slightly less than buying a new ticket.

Sometimes employees of a number of airlines go to meet lost mothers with small children, disabled people and other categories of people who are not through their own fault could be disoriented in space. In this case, the passenger is exempt from paying a fine, but this happens very rarely.

Important: If tickets for connecting flights were purchased separately from each other, then the responsibility for being late, even at in the event of a delay in departure, it lies entirely with the passenger. In such a situation, there can be no question of any compensation or free exchanges.

Things to remember

Carefully check the date and exact time of departure on the ticket. It is always best to check in which time zone the time will be indicated on the coupon.
Arrive at the airport with plenty of time. It is always better to wait a couple of hours in the waiting room than to be nervous at the check-in counter and pay all kinds of fines.
Don't buy tickets for flights with short connections. You can be sure that in half an hour you will not have time to go through all the control levels, re-register your luggage, or even find the right gate to the lane.
Carefully read the fare conditions. Whether your ticket is refundable or not, and in what cases you will have to pay a fine.
In advance study the scheme of the airport where you are arriving for the first time. You can find this information on the Internet in no time, but then you will know exactly which passage and escalator to get to the desired gate.

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Topic: If you missed your plane. What to do?.

Author: Kelly Costine

If you missed your plane. What to do? (Topic)