What to do when your flight is diverted

Last week’s complete shutdown of one of the busiest airports in the world had wide-reaching effects. The incident was caused by a fire that started at the North Hyde substation and caused power outages to 67,000 homes and businesses in the area.

The airport shutdown affected approximately 1,300 flights and over 200,000 passengers, and as such it takes second place in the list of historic largescale air diversion events:

• The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Eruption (Iceland) caused the largest air traffic shutdown since WWII with 100,000 flights canceled. This event remains the top diversion event in air traffic history.
• The 2023 Dubai Airport flood (UAE) ended with 800 flights canceled or diverted.

The massive shutdown of Heathrow Airport is a reminder that weather, technical issues, or unexpected emergencies can all cause a flight diversion; the scale of which depends on the reason.

Bookmark this as your step-by-step guide to handling this challenging situation and keeping your sanity.

Prepare in advance

The most efficient travelers are prepared for the unexpected, and in the case of a flight diversion, that means:

• Don’t check your bags, or if you do, always have enough clothes, medication, diapers and other essentials for an extra night.
• Keep items that you would need if you were delayed for hours in your carry-on, including chargers, water, snacks, medicine, baby supplied, etc.
• Download the apps for every airline and hotel on your itinerary before take-off.
• Use a travel credit card to book your trip.
• Buy travel insurance with trip delay and trip interruption protection.

If you pay for your trip with a credit card that features built-in trip delay or trip interruption coverage, then you may be able to pass along the bills for unexpected meals, transportation and lodging up to certain limits outlined in the rules.

The right travel insurance plan will have trip delay or interruption coverage too. Both types of coverage will have limits like how long the delay has to be in order for the protection to kick in or maximum amounts that will reimbursed.

Immediate Actions to Take

If your flight is diverted, the announcement will sound something like this:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I need your attention for an important announcement. Due to an electrical fire near Heathrow Airport, the airport has temporarily suspended all operations. As we don’t have sufficient fuel to remain in a holding pattern, we will be diverting to London Gatwick Airport, approximately 30 miles south of Heathrow. We expect to land at Gatwick in approximately 25 minutes. Our airline’s ground team at Gatwick is being notified and will have more information about onward travel arrangements when we land. For those of you with connecting flights at Heathrow, our ground staff will assist you with rebooking options. I understand this is not ideal, and I appreciate your patience. We’ll provide more updates as soon as we have them. Thank you for your understanding.”

Not something you want to hear, right? You can guess that would result in a loud and collective groan from the entire passenger list. 

As soon as you know your flight is diverted, it’s time to switch to figure-it-out mode. Start with doing these things:

1. Take note of your new arrival airport
2. Open your airline app and screenshot any notifications from the airline
3. Save the airline’s customer service number (just in case Wi-Fi isn’t available later)
4. Screenshot your original boarding pass

If the incident causing your flight to be diverted has also disrupted Wi-Fi, or the system is overloaded with everyone trying to get in touch at the same time, the airline’s app will have a Chat option.

I’ve used these in the past, and no matter how you feel about Chats in general, this is the best and quickest way to reach customer service directly. If you’re on the airline’s loyalty program and you’re using the app, it speeds things up considerably.

Before contacting customer service, have an idea in mind what you want them to do: 

• Rebook you on another flight?
• Cover hotel, transportation and meal expenses?
• All or none of the above?

If your flight lands at an unexpected airport, you are entitled to the following for domestic flights:

• Regular status updates
• Food and water, if delayed more than two hours
• Working bathrooms
• Medical attention, if needed

For international flights, your rights vary depending on your departure and destination point.

Protect Yourself

Before your flight lands in a place you hadn’t planned on and throughout this experience, it’s important that you protect your trip and know your rights. This is true whether you are traveling for business or leisure.

It’s important to clarify limitations so you can have realistic expectations about what happens next. For example, space in a nearby hotel isn’t guaranteed. Nor is compensation for missed events or appointments you may have set at your intended destination.

This is what travel pros will do in a flight diversion scenario:

• Document everything, including your current boarding pass with the original destination on it.
• Keep all receipts for any expenses you incur as a result of the diversion.
• Pay attention to the announcements and save any airline communication or emails.
• If needed, use your favorite hotel app and book a room quickly before they fill up.
• If snacks are offered, grab a few (you don’t know when you’ll have the next opportunity).

Note: You may need to show your original boarding pass later to continue on the flight or check in at an airline-provided hotel. The boarding pass on the airline app may disappear after a period of time, so grab that quickly.

Pro tip: If you’re traveling with a partner, have them work on some of the tasks while you work on others.

Don’t Leave the Airport Without a Plan

Until you have a new travel plan to get where you’re going, don’t leave the gate unless you are willing to risk an even more prolonged delay. In situations like these, the only information coming through could be in person by airline staff at the airport.

Be proactive, and don’t be afraid to ask for alternative options. Keep in touch with the airline app’s chat representatives.

That said, you don’t necessarily have to take what the airline offers you. Once you know what the airlines are offering, you can make some choices. If you have a new boarding pass and hotel loyalty points, go get some rest and claim the hotel cost on your travel card or travel insurance.

Pro tip: Either way, don’t get on the bus! If the airline is putting everyone up with a large group at a hotel, don’t take the provided transportation if you can avoid it (even if you take the provided hotel, which you don’t have to). Quickly snag a taxi or rideshare to the hotel to avoid the herd of people who show up all at once and need to check in at the same time. This can save you hours of standing in line.

Be Ready for Routine Security Screening

When you are able to continue your trip, your ‘old’ boarding pass will have incomplete information about the current situation. 

1. Try to get an updated boarding pass with your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry number on it so you can access the expedited screening lanes. 
2. If you can’t, try to get to the airport ahead of the other passengers (see above: don’t take the bus) so you can ask for a new boarding pass. 
3. If that doesn’t work, expect to go through the normal screening process, which can take more time than you’re used to.

No one enjoys a diverted flight – they’re pricey, time-consuming, and sometimes truly awful experiences, but you may have some options if you’re prepared and proactive. Savvy travelers like you know how to do this!