Are the media stories of ‘travel chaos’ making you nervous to go on holiday, or stopping you booking a holiday at all?

If you listen to the news, you’ll be aware of issues at airports during May and early June, with cancelled flights, delays, and general travel chaos, reported. This has certainly been the experience for some passengers, but far more have travelled without major incident.

I have recently read that flight cancellations only represent 1.5% of all departing flights. No doubt it is very frustrating and upsetting for those who are directly impacted, but I think it’s important to keep the numbers in perspective. None of my clients have been impacted by last minute cancellations, though some have experienced flight delays.

Most issues are impacting short-haul flights to Europe, with minimal disruption on long-haul routes. Also, some airports are more heavily impacted than others specifically Manchester and Gatwick. So, if you are flying from elsewhere, you will have less chance of an issue.

Unfortunately, some people will be unlucky but there is little point in stressing about “what if” because there is nothing that can be done about it, and in reality, it’s far more likely your holiday will go ahead as planned.

You can keep on top of what is happening by being vigilant to communication from your airline or travel agent – make sure they have both your email address and mobile phone number, and you have access to them!

It’s good practice right now to give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport (I recommend arriving around 3 hrs before). Be prepared with extra snacks and entertainment if you have an unexpected delay.

If you notice a same-day flight delay, it’s tempting to delay making your way to the airport, however, you still need to go to the airport for your original flight time, this is because time can be made up throughout the day. I’ve recently seen a 7-hour delay, reduced to less than 2 hours, if you’re lingering in an airport hotel it’s not a problem, but if you haven’t left home yet, it may be…

Please also make sure you do not compound any delays by double-checking you have all the correct paperwork to hand (I always recommend that you take printed copies) and that you are prepared for airport security. Even though the liquid restrictions came in to place in 2006 some 16 years ago, passengers are constantly being caught out, and if your hand luggage is the one that’s taken aside to be hand-checked, this could be the difference between catching and missing your flight.

So far, I’ve had very few customers severely affected and those that were did eventually get away. The chances are very high that you will too…

Get in touch to start planning your next holiday.