We’re knee-deep in summer and some of us are anticipating our beach getaways and European excursions coming up within the next couple of weeks. All the major news outlets are telling us how hectic flights are at every major airport in the world. But you’ve put in your days at work and you’re getting pumped to hit that island destination anyway. Travel Noire wants to give you a heads up on what to expect once you arrive at your favorite airport. Here are five reasons why catching flights now has us catching feelings.
Pricing & Refunds
Ever since the COVID-19 mandates have been lifted there’s been a spike in airline ticket prices. Unfortunately, the service isn’t reflective of what we’re paying for. Not to mention, refund policies have become stricter than those of the previous year. You can forget about asking for refunds when it comes to third-party sites such as Kayak or eDreams, and economy airlines such as Frontier and Spirit also have surcharges for last-minute ticket changes that make it cheaper to just buy a whole new ticket. Switching dates on your airline tickets come with astronomical fees, in many cases, it would be in your favor to click “YES” to insurance on your ticket purchases.
Airlines Enforcing “No Show” Policy
Let’s say on your European excursion ending in Italy, you decide to stay a little longer on a stopover in Lisbon without notifying your airline, they will automatically cancel all of your tickets within that flight itinerary and you would need to purchase your connecting and returning flights all over again. Also, take into consideration you will not be eligible for a refund on any of the flights that were automatically canceled. Make sure to read the “Contract of Carriage” section in the fine print of your airline ticket purchases to learn more about each individual airline’s “No Show” policy.
Tarmac Delays
In recent months, whether you’re coming or going, many airlines are taking longer to take off from the airport or let passengers off the plane upon arriving. The worst feeling is to finally arrive at your destination and not be able to get off the plane for a whole hour or two, in some cases even three!
Mishandled Baggage
A frequent flyer’s worst nightmare is the airline completely losing your checked luggage. According to the Department of Transportation, there have been nearly 220,000 cases of lost, damaged, or delayed luggage out of the 40 million bags the airlines have come across this year.
Flight Cancellations
Of course, flight cancellations have always been a constant possibility when it comes to traveling during severe weather conditions. But recently the main cause of cancellations has been the lack of staff available at airlines. Since COVID-19, many airline employees have pursued other endeavors and have not returned to work since the pandemic. Now as the mandates have been lifted there’s been an increase in customers, which has created a challenge for airlines to handle the workload with such a short staff in place.
Don’t let all the misfortunes get you down. If you come across any of these issues upon traveling or going on your vacation you can contact the Department of Transportation to make a complaint. You can also visit their website to learn more about troubleshooting airline issues from your latest trips.
Related: European And U.K. Airports Are ‘Pure Chaos’ Due To Massive Staff Shortages