Flight cancellation tips

The recent computer meltdowns at Southwest and Delta, two of the country’s most efficient and financially sound carriers, resulted in thousands of cancelled and delayed flights, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of travelers. And they were just the latest incidents in what has come to seem like a systemic problem.

Earlier this summer, two of the world’s most financially and operationally sound airlines, Delta and Southwest, were forced to delay and cancel thousands of flights due to problems with their respective software systems.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest, is back in business after being completely shut down for almost 11 hours between 1:00 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. on Sunday.

A new survey of over 2,000 people across the U.S. found that a whopping 92 percent of Americans don’t know what their air travel rights are when they take to the sky, and this lack of understanding costs travelers $6 billion in unclaimed compensation every year. The study was conducted by AirHelp, a company that helps air passengers secure compensation for delayed, canceled, or overbooked flights.

When the federal government shuts down, as it did over the weekend, the resulting uncertainty and confusion impinge on many areas of life, including travel. With hundreds of thousands of government workers thrown out of work, how will essential services be affected?

Have you questioned flying Southwest since its deadly engine failure made headlines this spring? The incident might have overshadowed a watershed safety moment for another low-cost airline—one that’s long faced questions about its safety: Allegiant Air.

Update: September 27, 2019

Analysis from AirHelp, a company that (for a fee) helps people get refunds and compensation from airlines following disrupted flights, says airlines already owe an estimated $290 million for delayed, cancelled or overbooked flights this year. The data refers specifically to U.S. travelers onboard flights operating under European Union jurisdiction.

On Wednesday, the United States and Canada joined almost every other country and dozens of airlines in grounding Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes closely following the second deadly crash of the brand-new aircraft model in recent months. A tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed everyone onboard Sunday followed the deadly October Lion Air crash the went down near Jakarta. Both planes went down without warning, just after takeoff, and in both crashes, all passengers and crew were killed.

Successful winter travel is all about successfully navigating the weather. In winter, most travelers hope to get to and from their destinations with minimum trouble and maximum enjoyment—and, most importantly, to always arrive safe and sound, no matter what sort of snow, ice, sleet, or freezing rain you may encounter. To that end, here are some winter travel tips and tactics to help you avoid spending the season stuck in airports or on roadsides.

At 8:28 p.m. Universal Time Tuesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Notice to Air Missions System (NOTAM) failed. This critical system flags potential hazards along a flight route or at an airport (such as closed runways or equipment outages).