The First Four Things to Do When Your Flight is Canceled

Flight cancellations under the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) government shutdown order have begun, with hundreds of flights and thousands of travelers across 40 U.S. airports affected. This could continue for as long as the shutdown lasts (and potentially impact many more travelers as the busy holiday season approaches).

While flight cancellations are never fun, the cascading effect of due to the government shutdown could make dealing with one even more frustrating. Here are four actions you should take right away if your itinerary is cut.

Enable alerts from your airline

Flight cancellations often happen with little to no notice, sometimes when you're already en route to your destination, and airlines are certainly scrambling to comply with the FAA's shutdown order. As they continue to pare down their schedules, there's a chance your flight may be cut well before you head to the airport.

To keep yourself in the loop, download your airline's app and turn on push notifications so you receive status updates as soon as they're available—and keep an eye on your email and text messages for additional alerts.

Check your rebooking options ASAP

Airlines will often automatically rebook passengers whose flights are canceled on the next available alternative—so again, make sure you have your airline's app on your phone to quickly view your options. If the airline offers this, you can accept the rebooked itinerary, choose a different one, or reject it and get a refund instead. Going through the mobile app is likely to be much faster than queuing at the customer service counter or trying to get through over the phone. (Though if you do need to talk to an actual person at your airline, we've got a guide for that.)

Of course, you should check your airline's guidance specific to shutdown cancellations. Frontier, for example, is waiving change and cancellation fees and allowing passengers to request a rebooked itinerary or refund, but you may not automatically be placed on the next flight. United is offering rebooking options as well as refunds to anyone who chooses not to travel, even if their flight isn't affected. You'll find relevant advisories on your airline's website (for example, Delta, American, JetBlue, and Southwest).

Know what you're entitled to

If your flight is canceled less than 14 days before departure and you choose not to travel, you are entitled to a refund—even if you booked a nonrefundable or basic economy ticket. Airlines may offer travel credits or vouchers first, but you can try to request cash if that's your preference.

You can look up your airline's standard commitments in the event of "controllable" cancellations on the Department of Transportation's Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard, but you should also check the policies specific to the FAA flight reduction as outlined above.

Consider booking a backup

If your trip is an absolute must, you may want to book a back-up option at a different time, on a different airline, or through an alternative airport. While there's no guarantee that this flight won't also be canceled, it does at least increase your odds of getting to your destination with a confirmed seat while other affected travelers are being rebooked on itineraries hours or days later.

You can buy a refundable ticket—knowing you'll either get to where you need to go or get the extra money back if your original itinerary works out—or use points and miles, which are often easily deposited back into your account if you cancel your ticket. Be sure to check the terms and conditions of your rewards program. You can also look into travel insurance, which will usually fully refund your purchase, albeit for a fee

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