Today we will talk about what to do if you miss your plane. Such a nuisance can happen to any passenger and for various reasons, but even tourists who have “flown” hundreds of hours may not know how to act in this case.
General information
First of all, you need to understand the principle and procedure for flying on an airliner. Unlike any other type of transport, air travel is not at all limited to buying a ticket and boarding a plane. Each passenger must go through a mandatory check-in procedure, which begins long before boarding.
So, when you arrive at the airport, you should go to the registration window and present the mentioned ticket, passport and other necessary documents. Here you will be offered to check in your baggage, which the airport's special staff will independently load into the cargo hold of the aircraft. After completing these procedures, you will be issued a boarding pass, and the cute dispatcher will offer you to go to the boarding waiting room. Nobody will let you on board the airliner until the landing is announced.
What to do if the plane departed without you
It is not uncommon for passengers to arrive late in the airport lounge. They have no choice but to look with disappointment after the airliner leaving the horizon. But there is no need to "give up" on the long-awaited vacation and return home. After all, not all is lost and the problem can be solved!
Let's see what can be done in this case? First of all, you should contact the representative of the airline for which you bought the ticket. It is more likely that you will be offered to exchange a ticket and will select the best flight option. If you flew to a business meeting and are late, then you can return your ticket. Typically, the company agrees to reimburse up to 75% of its value.
You should be aware that some types of tickets will not be accepted back. In particular, if the passenger took advantage of the airline's budget offer or bought a ticket at a discount. But those who fly in business or first class are protected from such an unpleasant surprise. Such customers will be happy to offer a good flight and replace an unused document. On it, as a rule, the conditions of return, exchange and other rights of buyers are spelled out.
But if a carrier company is the culprit for the fact that the plane departed without a passenger, they are obliged to refund the full cost of the document. This happens when there are changes in the schedule, cancellation of flights due to unforeseen circumstances (bad weather), etc. You can count on reimbursement of expenses even if it was not possible to get into the passenger compartment of the vehicle on time due to the fault of the air station employees (long paperwork, long baggage inspection, etc.).
You should also be careful when buying tickets for international flights. If a visa is required in the country to which you are flying, then the carrier is relieved of all responsibility for the fact that you did not complete this important document. When such an incident is revealed in the airport hall, the client may be denied boarding and refund of the money spent.
Late for registration
It happens that a passenger is late for check-in, but the plane is still on the runway. Determine immediately how much time is left before takeoff. If you have more than 25 minutes left, there is still a chance of getting on board. In such a situation, it is worth using the services of the late arrival registration desk. If the client is not the owner of a business class ticket, then he will have to pay extra for his sluggishness. If there is no such counter in the hall, you need to find a representative of the carrier company.
But in those cases when there are several minutes left before departure, you should not count on luck. You will most likely need to travel on a different flight or route. No airline will delay a flight because of one passenger, since even a few minutes' delay can result in an irreparable delay in the flight schedule.
Those who fly from an international airport should be even more careful. In addition to the standard check-in and baggage screening procedures, such clients will have to go through customs and passport control. The counters of such control are always crowded, so even those who arrive at the airport on time sometimes run the risk of being late and not getting on board.
Didn't make it on board
In the event that the check-in procedure was successful, but the tourist for some reason did not have time to board, he also has every chance to stay at the point of the planned departure and spend the first day of vacation in the waiting room. Depending on the type of aircraft and the method of access to the board (on foot, via a ladder or by bus), this procedure may take some time. Boarding of the airliner stops 10-20 minutes before departure. Those customers who have registered, but did not appear on board on time, will be additionally called over the speakerphone, but no one will wait for latecomers either.
In exceptional cases, a company representative may decide to delay the flight and board the client, but you should not hope for such luck. And then there is no point in hoping for a full refund of the ticket. In the best case, the client will be refunded part of the money, because it is believed that he was late for his own fault.
Thus, if you are going to fly by plane, you need to familiarize yourself in advance with the procedure and terms for passing the registration procedure, customs and passport control, and also carefully monitor the announcements of landings on air transport. But if you are late through no fault of your own, there is no need to despair, because the company cares about its reputation and customers, so it will return part of the money spent or change the air ticket.
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