With Friday's fire caused power outage at LHR and the resulting disruptions, how are you positioned for such a disruption and how well could you have rolled with it?
I've never been in a position that I must be at home. I have a good cushion with vacation leave and finances and when I get home I still have another week off. The pet is a corn snake and she's good on food until I'm home.
It confirmed my decision not to book my expensive ballet ticket too soon after arrival in the country. Any disappointment over disruptions to any of my other plans would be minimal, by comparison.
I could roll with it, I think. A friend usually keeps my dog, and I always have a backup plan for her care. I have a good bit of flexibility with time and finances.
The only time I have had a major trip disruption was during the great Covid shutdown in March 2020. I was peacefully lounging in a hammock on a dahabiya (sailboat) on the Nile when we got word that all the airports and hotels in Egypt were shutting down in less than 72 hours. We made it out of Egypt, with a connection in Athens, and on to Istanbul. In Athens, the customs officers took the passports of all the Americans, and only the Americans, and herded into a corner where we had to wait for 45 minutes before our passports were returned. (We never figured out what that was about, but it made us very nervous.) When we landed in Istanbul, we found out that they had shut the Turkish border a few hours before our arrival. By that time, most international flights had been cancelled, and we were stranded in the Istanbul airport. Fortunately, I recalled that there was an airside hotel in the airport, and so we had a comfy place to crash for the night before getting a flight to New York the next morning. It was an adventure, but ... yeah, we just rolled with it.
I'm scheduled to fly from Chicago to London Sunday night, so I feel I've dodged a bullet.
While a delay in departure or return would be inconvenient, I could cope with the loss of unused pre purchased tickets or the cost of additional nights stay
However, I did just send an email to Insure My Trip asking if the closing of an airport due to fire would be a covered event for Trip Delay or Cancellation on the policy I usually purchase.
I could probably manage without too much trouble as I'm retired so don't have to be concerned about being back at work. I'd have to call my pet care person to arrange a bit of extra coverage, but that shouldn't be a problem. If the flight disruptions looked like they might not be resolved quickly, I'd start looking at alternative transportation, even from a different city.
I've had my fair share of travel disruptions. Quite often, I have a Plan B just in case. Especially for big portions of a trip. Sometimes to my advantage I've been rerouted through other cities, put on different train lines, upgraded to a higher class.....all because of the next paragraph.
The one thing you shouldn't do is get mad at the gate agent or airline rep or train personnel. Everyone else is. What I do, when it's my turn, and I've heard the agent being yelled at, is to start by saying: "Hi, you're having a tough day aren't you? I have a problem and I hope you can help me." Then, tell him/her your problem and if you can come up with a solution it's even better.
Rolling with it is much easier if you have money. And not travelling with kids.
My biggest travel disruption was when I was trying to get from London to Brussels and all Eurostar services were cancelled due to a body on the line. It was absolute chaos at St Pancras and people were waiting around to see when trains would resume.
I knew I would not be able to cope with the stress and queues. Luckily I was travelling alone and at the time I had disposable income so I found a corner and some wifi and booked a flight to Brussels later that day. It cost a lot more due to late booking but we’re talking maybe £300 I think (a lot for a flight to Brussels but not a bad price to avoid the stress).
I then put my suitcase into storage and enjoyed my extra day in London.
My instincts were right, as in fact all trains were cancelled until much later in the evening, and we were offered refunds if we wanted to cancel.
When I returned to St P hours later to pick up my suitcase and get the tube out to Heathrow, it was still stressful and chaotic. I felt very Zen as I got in my flight.
But the key was: I was alone, I had a certain amount of money to fix the problem, I didn’t have children with me.
Yeah no issues with a couple of days delay getting home. Anything more would become a slight nuisance but no more than that. We share a property with our eldest daughter her partner and their 5yo. So home and animals no issue. Money would be no issue. I'm retired my wife's work would be no issue (we are Aussies so not draconian work rules). Biggest hassle probably is organising someone to do the school pickups for the 5yo, usually my responsibility.
I could deal with it. Hubby is self-sufficient and doesn’t travel so I’m solo. No pets. However I hate to be inconvenienced (personality quirk of the over organized) so finding a hotel or somewhere to hang out wherever I was stranded would be important.
EDIT: Patty, you posted right after I did, so I will just edit my post. Your hints, lessons learned and positive attitude are very helpful. Thank you.
We can now. In May 2023 we got caught mid trip at LHR on a Thursday afternoon, we were rebooked for Saturday night, flight cancellation again and we finally got out Sunday p.m. It was a perfect storm as it happened on a holiday weekend so there was no wiggle room. Lesson learned: fully charged cell-phone, enough cash for a taxi, carryon luggage, don’t book anything for the first day (or two) after planned arrival and then try to enjoy where you’re stuck.
I’ve been thinking of all those people who were disrupted yesterday - especially those who were rerouted to out-of-the way places. We all know that most flights are going out fully booked these days, so there isn’t a lot of wiggle room for situations like this and doing the math is pretty staggering. It’s not just the flights, either. It’s hotel rooms for that many guests (we discovered areas of greater London-twice), charging ports for cell phones at the airport, and getting a regular cab from the airport, but not back to the airport ( they took us to cash machines to get cash). It certainly increased our ability to “roll” in the future.
Patty, I think you make a good point about most flights being nearly fully booked to begin with so not a lot of wiggle room and longer for the airlines to catch up.
I think one thing that helps is having plenty of credit limit on credit cards in case something needs money thrown at it like Golden Girl's situation. It might be a good time to see what your credit limits are and raise them if you can. American Express keeps raising my limit without me asking and it's currently at ridiculous levels which I will never, hopefully, have to use!
For myself, I'm a solo traveler, no pets, would just need to notify my brother/SIL of change in pick up plans from the airport. I also don't book high ticket things for my first day in a location but mostly do that because I"m never sure how "on" I will be, hahaha!!
This is a very good reason to always carry extra medication with you. I take an extra week supply just in case.
I'd like to think we could roll with it, even if events sent my BP to new heights. The Brit saying if Keep Calm and Carry On is sometimes easier said than done. Years ago we showed up at LHR after a week in the Cotswolds to find that a strike had hit BA. Thousands of people stranded and milling about. But we were given a box lunch while we waited, and they arranged a nearby hotel for us, which I hadn't expected. Took 2 extra nights before we finally flew out, but that just gave us more time to enjoy London.
Last month we were returning from Cancun to Toronto. Just as we were due to board, they announced a delay. Toronto had just closed due to the Delta plane crash. And with the cabin crew likely to time out if the delay lasted too much longer, things didn't look good for a return that day. We grabbed our phones, only to find out there was no wifi. Had to go outside to get a cell signal, and even that was poor. But managed to text our daughter back in Canada who found a vacancy at a nearby hotel. But the gods smiled on us, Toronto opened back up with reduced operations, and we took off only a couple of hours late. So, we rolled with it, but I really appreciated that drink after take off.
Yesterday, almost all the flight that had been diverted when LHR closed, reposition back to LHR.
I wonder how many of the original passengers were on those flights?
I heard some passengers whose plane diverted to Munich were bussed to London.
I am a little disappointed to see how quickly this dropped out of the news, didn’t see much on BBC this morning or any US news sites. Most of us travel enough to know potential, so we also know that airlines don’t carry extra catering and even if you get a voucher for food or hotel, you’ll be competing with tons of people. Those who travel less frequently may not anticipate and prepare for an unexpected event. One of the surprises for us was how little support the airlines (British Airways) offered. So, know how to use travel apps, I.e. airlines, trains, etc… because you’ll probably be expected to re-book yourself.
Pam’s advice about making sure you have access to enough funds to solve problem is crucial.
I am a little disappointed to see how quickly this dropped out of the news, didn’t see much on BBC this morning
It is still rolling news on the home page of the BBC News website. Only about 30 departing flights have been cancelled today, and 70 arriving flights (a number of those being short hop domestic flights where adequate service transport exists). Around 50 extra slots have been added to the schedule today to accept repatriation flights.
