Travel Tips during an Airline Strike

Tickets on flight to India, unfortunately, do not guarantee a scheduled flight journey. The airlines can be hit by strikes, which might result in the cancellation or delays of your flights. What to do in such situations?

You did everything right while planning holidays to India. Made the travel arrangements months in advance, booked flights to India early, concocted your tour itinerary and even got wonderful cheap flight deals on everything!

You are all ready and set to go and then – you hear that the airline with which you made bookings for India flights is going on a strike! What can you do and how will you handle situation?

Industrial action is something that is not very uncommon in today’s highly volatile market conditions! From UK’s British Airways to India’s Air India and Kingfisher Airlines, airlines all over the world have faced strikes for one reason to another. A strike can be a torturous time for travellers, making them frustrated and upset. Take a look at different aspects of an airline strike and useful suggestions that may assist you in dealing with an airline strike.

• It is often observed that when airlines strike they generally do not cease their operations completely. It is best to sit back and take stock of things before actually going ahead with any of your ‘plans’.
• Information is one key that unlocks many a locks! Information made you aware of different flight options, information got you cheap flights to India and it is adequate, appropriate information that is going to bail you out of this situation. Strike or no strike, it is an absolute must to check the status of your flight before you leave for the airport. Surely, it becomes all the more relevant when the talks of strike are doing the rounds.
• In case you are aware that your flight has been delayed or has been cancelled due to the strike, you will surely prefer to remain in the comfort of your home rather than to stroll around apprehensively at the airport terminals. Check out the airline website for the latest information and status of you flight to India.
• There is another line of thought that advocates that travellers affected by industrial action should get to the airport early. No doubt, it is going to be absolute chaos at the airport but some would prefer to be in the thick of the action.
• Most airlines are likely to notify you in case your flight is being delayed or cancelled because of the strike or any other issue for that matter. In the age of social media, getting regular updates and procuring useful information is not really a stretch. Apart from emails and phone messages, one can catch all the updates on social media sites like Twitter.
• This is an extension of the above mentioned point. While it maybe common sense to some, it is still worth advising that it is utmost important to remain contactable during a crisis. Be it phone or e-mail, making sure that the airline or the travel agent has the means to contact you, is a foremost step.
• This one is more of the ‘precaution’ rather then the ‘cure,’ but sometimes it really pays to book through a travel agent. A good travel agent can prove to be a highly useful friend in times like these. In case an airline goes on a strike, a travel agent is perhaps the best resource to find out different options in terms of flight deals. Also, a tour and travel agent is more likely to be successful in reaching the airline staff in the times of trouble and can thus get you the updates and news from the horse’s mouth!
• In case you are contemplating writing to the airline for any sort of compensation, it is best to be polite and decent. Writing offensive language and using some ‘colourful’ adjectives is not the way to go if you are looking for some discounts or compensation. It is best to explain your situation and ask for any sort of discounts on air tickets, air miles or any other benefits for future travel.
• You are travelling to India, the most interesting country in the world! It is best to keep up the spirits and try to remain clam in the unfortunate event of your airline going for a strike. Keep a sense of humour!
• Situations like these can get really frustrating and it can be even more frustrating when travellers are passed on from one counter to another. Connect with right sort of people. Also, if you are a frequent flyer, you can try to throw your weight around. It maybe a little dismaying for non-regular travellers, but there is no denying the fact that a frequent flyer with good top tier status is likely to be heard more!
• If you have travel insurance, you can go to the insurance provider to get money back for your flight tickets.