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Traveller sitting with a suitcase in an airport terminal in the evening, planes outside

My flight is cancelled – I am stuck at the airport

“Cancelled” on the departure board and a queue to the horizon. Whoever now uses several channels at once and knows their rights gets moving sooner.

First

  1. Stay calm and check the airline's information: app, screens, desk.
  2. Queue and phone or rebook in the app at the same time – whoever books first gets the next seats.
  3. Keep medication, charger and essentials in your hand luggage.
  4. Keep receipts and ask about meals and a hotel if you have a long wait.

Call emergency services if

  • Someone becomes seriously ill or injured: airport staff and emergency number
  • A child has got lost in the crowds: tell staff or police at once
  • Essential medication is running out with no replacement

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What is happening

Flight cancellations caused by storms, strikes, volcanic ash or technical problems often affect many people at once. Then desks are overrun, hotels fully booked and phone lines busy. Whoever stays calm and uses several channels at once – app, phone, desk – usually reaches a solution sooner.

In the EU, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 sets out air passenger rights. When a flight is cancelled these include a choice between a refund and re-routing as well as care such as meals and, if needed, a hotel night. Whether compensation is also due depends, among other things, on whether there were extraordinary circumstances.

In the first hour, though, being looked after matters more than any compensation: medication, charger, water and something to eat in your hand luggage, a plan for the night and relatives who know what is happening.

This page helps you organise the wait well. For legal questions the airline, consumer advice centres and arbitration bodies are the right contacts.

Step by step

My flight is cancelled – I am stuck at the airport – Phase 1 of 4First minutes: get informed. Check the app, departure board and announcements: cancellation or delay? Stay calm and keep the group together. Keep medication, charger and essentials in your hand luggage. Let relatives and, if needed, your accommodation or employer know.
Phase 1 of 4

Phase 1 of 4

First minutes: get informed

Check the app, departure board and announcements: cancellation or delay? Stay calm and keep the group together. Keep medication, charger and essentials in your hand luggage. Let relatives and, if needed, your accommodation or employer know.

The animation shows the key actions of each phase schematically; the text below is what counts.

  1. Phase 1

    First minutes: get informed

    • Check the app, departure board and announcements: cancellation or delay?
    • Stay calm and keep the group together.
    • Keep medication, charger and essentials in your hand luggage.
    • Let relatives and, if needed, your accommodation or employer know.

  2. Phase 2

    Rebooking: several channels

    • Join the queue and rebook via app or phone at the same time.
    • Check alternatives: other airports, train, bus.
    • When booking, ask for the next possible seat and get the new booking confirmed.
    • With package holidays, contact the tour operator too.

  3. Phase 3

    Care and rights

    • Ask for meal vouchers and, if needed, a hotel.
    • Keep all receipts: food, hotel, transport.
    • For flights under EU law: choose a refund or re-routing; check possible claims later.
    • Check travel insurance and credit card benefits.

  4. Phase 4

    Getting through the wait

    • Organise somewhere to sleep: hotel or a quiet corner, valuables on your body.
    • Drink and eat regularly, charge your phone whenever you can.
    • Keep children busy and agree on fixed meeting points in the terminal.
    • Do not make important decisions while exhausted.

★ Pro tips

What experienced people do differently: proven practice from mountain rescue, fire services, lifeguards and civil protection that beginners rarely know.

  1. Call a different airline hotline

    During mass cancellations, the hotline in the airport's country is swamped. The airline's service number in another country, its frequent-flyer line or its chat support are often much quicker to reach – and can rebook you just the same. Use only numbers from the airline's official website.

  2. Book a cancellable hotel straight away

    Rooms around the airport go fast after cancellations. While you are still in the queue, book a room with free cancellation on your phone. If the airline later gives you one, just cancel yours – otherwise at least you have a bed.

  3. Ask for the written notice of your rights

    Under EU rules the airline has to hand you a written notice of your passenger rights when your flight is cancelled or badly delayed. Ask for it explicitly at the desk. It sets out what you are entitled to and where to complain – very useful later.

  4. Think before leaving the airside area

    Once you leave the area behind security, you will have to go through security and possibly passport control again – often with long queues. If you are in transit without a visa for that country, you may not be allowed to leave at all. Check before booking a hotel outside.

  5. Booked your own way? The rest of your ticket may lapse

    If you take another route on your own and don't show up for a booked flight, the airline will often cancel every later flight on that ticket – including your return. Agree any do-it-yourself solution with the airline first, or get written confirmation that the rest of the ticket stays valid.

What to watch out for

  • Medication in the suitcase

    Checked baggage can be out of reach for days after cancellations. Essential medication belongs in your hand luggage.

  • Just waiting

    Anyone who only queues often gets the later seats. Use app and phone in parallel.

  • Children in the crowds

    Children easily get lost in crowded terminals. Agree a meeting point and put a card with your number in their pocket.

  • Scams

    During mass cancellations fake hotlines and messages appear. Use only the airline's official channels.

Common mistakes

  • Having medication in checked baggage.
  • Throwing away receipts.
  • Only queuing instead of rebooking in parallel.
  • Making expensive decisions while exhausted.
  • Trusting unknown links and hotlines.

Prepare in advance

  • Medication for a few extra days, charger and power bank in your hand luggage.
  • Install the airline's app and allow notifications.
  • Take out travel insurance and know the conditions.
  • Spare clothes and toiletries in your hand luggage.
  • For children: snacks, games and a contact card.

Special consideration

People who need assistance
Inform the airport's assistance service when plans change and request help again when rebooking.
Travelling with babies
Baby food, nappies and spare clothes for at least one extra day in your hand luggage.

Sources

  • Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights · European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2004
  • 112 – the European emergency number · European Commission

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All rules of this situation (4)

  1. [not active] If Flight = From an EU airport or with an EU airline into the EU

    EU air passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004) give you, among other things, a right to care (meals, a hotel if needed) and a choice between a refund and re-routing when a flight is cancelled. Keep receipts.

  2. [not active] If With you = Children

    Keep food, nappies and something to play with in your hand luggage. Ask about family desks or quiet areas.

  3. [not active] If With you = Someone needs medication or help

    Medication for several extra days in hand luggage. Anyone needing help contacts the airport's assistance service.

  4. [not active] If How long? = Overnight or longer

    Ask early about a hotel or book one yourself and keep receipts. Do not make important decisions while exhausted.