What to do when your flight is delayed overnight

Step 1: Don’t panic.

Delays happen all the time for a number of reasons and airport personnel know how to handle them. You are almost never going to be financially responsible for needing to book a new flight due to a delay or cancellation. I know this time can be stressful, but remember to breathe. You will get through it with these easy steps!

Step 2: Visit customer service.

After you’ve taken a deep breath, the first thing you’re going to want to do is visit customer service. You can follow the signs or just follow the crowd of angry people who were supposed to be on the same flight as you. 

Once you find your way there, you should remember a few things. 

• Be prepared to wait in a SUPER long line. Chances are, everyone from your former flight is also paying customer service a visit and the wait is going to be inevitable– UNLESS you are willing to find the next closest customer service desk! Though it may be a short trek to the next spot, you may find that you save lots of time in the end. 
• Be nice! I can assure you almost everyone else in that line is not thinking about being nice, but kindness can really go a long way. After getting yelled at all day for something that wasn’t their fault, the customer service agents are going to really appreciate your gentle kindness. Maybe they will even appreciate it enough to throw in an extra voucher or two!

By the time you finally make it to the front of the line, there will be a few things you want to ask. 

Step 3: Secure the details for your rescheduled flight.

Hopefully your flight was only delayed, in which case, you will only need to ask for the new flight details such as the time and gate if you don’t know them already. If it was cancelled, however, don’t worry! They will book you a new flight there and print you out a new boarding pass right away. 

Step 4: Ask for reimbursement. 

 Ask if there is any sort of reimbursement since you will need to stay overnight and have no place to stay. They should provide you with a detailed list of instructions on how to get reimbursed for a hotel for the night or how to receive some money back or towards airline credit instead.

Step 5: Ask for meal vouchers.

Every time I have been stuck in an airport overnight, customer service has given me several meal vouchers for $10 a piece. These are good for most of the restaurants and convenience stores in the airport, but be sure to use the entire $10 in one place, as they cannot give you change. These vouchers also expire quickly so make sure you use it during that visit. 

Step 6: Ask for a care package.

They will understand what you mean and hand you a water bottle (or something similar depending on the airline) that includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, qtips, wet wipes, and a napkin- basically all your overnight essentials.

Step 7: Find out if the airport has cots or somewhere designated for sleeping.

If you’re like me and have decided that venturing out of the airport to find a hotel is too much of a hassle, then you have one more thing to ask customer service: Are there sleeping cots in this airport and if so, where? If the answer is yes then you are very lucky and have a place to lay down somewhat comfortably for the night! Sometimes, there will even be care packages and blankets on the cots that are up for grabs. I would warn you not to get your hopes up however, because many airports don’t have cots and if they do, they leave much to be desired. 

Step 8: Have no shame! 

You’re going to be sleeping in public, but that is a totally normal sight in an airport and you shouldn’t feel out of place. You might even have to get into some weird positions, such as pulling together 4 chairs from the closed diner to sleep on while using your sweater as a blanket and backpack as a pillow. Don’t worry, no one will yell at or judge you for these things in the wee hours of the night- just be sure you leave everything as you found it when it’s time for you to leave.

Step 9: Finally, RELAX.

There is nothing more you need to do, but wait. Try to get some sleep if you can. Maybe find an outlet to charge up your devices. Or if it’s too early, consider checking out what attractions the airport has to offer. Some airports have art museums, spas, cafes, and more. I decided on buying The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy from the bookstore and read that for 4 hours straight!