What To Do When Your Flight Is Canceled

Sometimes when you're traveling, no matter how much you plan your trip in advance or how careful you are to not make any booking mistakes, things just fall apart at the last minute. Dealing with flight delays can make an already stressful situation even more difficult, but that's still not as bad as your flight getting canceled.

Unfortunately, flight cancelations aren't as rare an occurrence as they should be, but there are plenty of resources you can use and things you can do to figure out your next steps if it happens to you. If you're ever stranded at the airport due to your flight getting canceled, these tips should help you get through it.

See what you can find out from your gate agent about the reasons for cancellation and what your options are. Gate agents tend to be more likely to know what's going on than customer service.

Airlines will usually rebook you themselves on the next available departing flight, either automatically or with gate agents initiating the process. However, you should make sure they do by either speaking to a gate agent, calling the airline's customer service line or checking the airline's website or app yourself to see if any changes have been made to your booking. You should not be charged any change or cancelation fees.

If you're not rebooking with the airline, make sure to get a full refund by speaking with customer service. Depending on the airline and its policies, this can be in the form of simply receiving back your payment or with airline credit. If you do rebook, make sure that you are paid back the difference if the next flight is cheaper. If it's more expensive than your original flight, try to negotiate so they don't charge you any further than you had originally paid.

Sometimes an airline will be dealing with multiple cancellations at once, or maybe it's simply just the busy holiday season, which can mean spending hours on hold while waiting for an airline representative to get to you. If this is the case, try using a smartphone app like Skype or Whatsapp — or just your phone, if you have international calling included in your plan — to call one of your airline's international numbers. You may find faster service this way as different representatives may be picking up these lines.

If you end up having to wait until the next day for a flight, airlines will often put you up in a nearby hotel free of charge. However, this is only done for passengers who aren't local and if the airline was responsible for the cancelation due to a delay with the crew, mechanical issue or something similar. You can also request a voucher for something to eat while you wait. This isn't actually required of the airlines if you're flying domestic within the United States, but airlines within the E.U. are required by law to provide meals, refreshments or accommodations. Situations such as severe weather, labor disputes or Air Traffic Control decisions are considered to not be in the airline's control.

If you can prove that an international flight cancellation caused you financial loss and that the airline could have reasonably prevented it, you can claim further compensation thanks to a treaty called the Montreal Convention that applies to most flights from the U.S.

If you can't find any flights that are suitable for you at your airport, check out alternatives in the area. There may be a better option elsewhere, and you can either take a shuttle, rent a car or call a taxi or rideshare to head over in time for your flight.