- 1). Remain calm. The first thing to remember when faced with travel disruption is that your wellbeing and safety come first. Staying composed during such times is perhaps one of the most difficult things to achieve but it is important to keep in mind that, when it comes to delays and flight cancellations, your airline or tour operator will generally act in your best interests. To help you to take your mind off things, you may wish to take out some reading materials or catch up with some work on your laptop, if you have one.
- 2). Keep away from the airport. As basic as this may sound, it is not always obvious. But it is crucial to remember that during disruption, airports and other points of departure can easily turn into breeding grounds for anger and frustration from overwhelmed passengers. Being amid the commotion is likely to cause you more distress. So your best bet is to leave the airport and go to lodge in a nearby hotel from where you can return to the airport in minimum time. However, if you must remain at the airport, then the best place to wait might be in a secluded area such as the airline lounge or a restaurant.
- 3). Elicit information as the situation evolves. During a flight disruption, things tend to happen either too quickly or gradually; and information changes just as often. In any case, the best you can do to keep yourself updated with the situation is to utilise all the channels of communication available to you. Your airline or tour operator will, in all likelihood, have provided you with telephone numbers to call in case of an emergency. Contact them directly for advice or visit airline's website for the latest updates on flights and the whole situation.
- 4). Talk to your airline before incurring substantial costs. When you are left stranded a long way from home, it might mean that you have to extent your holiday while you wait for the situation to change. While airlines have duty of care to their passengers to provide the necessary travel arrangements including rebooking flights or rerouting passengers, that does not mean they will readily do so. Enquire with your airline about your options and whether or not they will pick up the hotel and food bill as, in some cases, they may also provide adequate accommodation.
- 5). Keep basics items in your hand luggage. Travelling light is paramount on long journeys, and although you might prefer to offload all your baggage to the airline, you might also want to pack essential items--such as a spare change of clothes and some toiletries--in you hand luggage. These will come in handy when you find yourself stranded abroad and your luggage is already checked in.
Source...