Passenger Guide
Flight Cancellations and Rebooking
What the airline owes you, and how to get it quickly
Cancellations are cleaner than delays in one respect: your entitlement is usually explicit. You may take a replacement flight at the earliest opportunity, or a refund of the unused portion of the ticket.
The complication is competition. Everyone on the cancelled flight wants the same handful of remaining seats, so the speed of your reaction matters more than the strength of your argument.
What to do immediately
- Open the airline app and check whether you have already been auto-rebooked. Accept or reject it deliberately.
- Call the airline while walking to the transfer or service desk.
- Search alternative flights yourself so you can propose a specific option to the agent.
- If you are at the departure airport with bags checked, ask where your luggage will be.
Refund or rerouting
| Situation | Better option |
|---|---|
| You must reach the destination | Rerouting, including on another airline |
| The trip no longer makes sense | Full refund of unused segments |
| You are mid-journey and want to go home | Refund plus a return to your first departure point |
| Travel a day later is acceptable | Rerouting plus hotel and meals |
A voucher is not a refund. You can accept one if it suits you, but you are not obliged to, and accepting can waive other claims.
Hotels, meals and transport
If the replacement flight is the next day, the airline should arrange accommodation and transfers. If they will not arrange it, book something reasonable yourself and keep every receipt.
Compensation on top
- Compensation is usually payable when the cancellation was within the airline's control and notice was short.
- Long notice, typically two weeks or more, generally removes the entitlement.
- Accepting a rerouting does not by itself waive a compensation claim.
Making the claim
- Use the airline's official claim form; email to general addresses is often ignored.
- Attach the booking reference, the cancellation notice and all receipts.
- Keep the claim factual and short. Long narratives slow the process.
- If refused without a clear reason, escalate to the relevant national authority.
Frequently asked questions
- Can the airline force me to accept a voucher?
- No. Where a refund right applies you can insist on money back to the original payment method.
- Can I be rebooked onto a different airline?
- Often yes, especially where the airline cannot offer a reasonable alternative of its own. You usually have to request it explicitly.
- What if I booked through an agency?
- Refunds normally flow back through the agency that took payment, which adds time. Chase both the airline and the agency in writing.
- How long do refunds take?
- Commonly one to two billing cycles. Keep the claim reference and follow up in writing if it passes that.
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