Travel is such an incredible thing to experience when you go from one place to another and there are some pros and cons about connecting flights versus direct non-stop flights. Although its great to see different airport hubs and to fly with different aircraft, however there can be some stressful yet frustrating moments when it comes to layovers when it comes to delays and even worse, cancellations. It is something that we do not want to hear, but sometimes it is out of our control due to discrepancies with the weather, runway delays, an unruly passenger, late passengers, aircraft issues. Whatever the case maybe.
I am here to give you advice on what to do when you have a flight that is delayed and you have to make it to your next flight within the hour or 2. whatever duration it maybe that cuts very close to your departure time to your final destination. It can be a nerve-wrecking, panicky moment when you hear your flight is delayed for 2 hours and you have to make it to your next flight and you have about an hour or so time gap in between. It makes anybody nervous and anxious.
When you know you are going to be delayed, right away without waiting, go to the desk counter where you see staff from the airline and explain your situation to them that I have I connecting flight, I will not make it for that flight because of the delay. You must do something for me, reissue another boarding pass for a later flight from that Airport hub. When you do that, your flight is automatically protected and they will know you are connecting.
Always show the airline staff your travel itinerary and give them an understanding of your situation. It can save you hassle in the long run and you are secure to arrive to your final destination on the same day. It would be terrible to lose time during your travels due to connecting flight delays.
That is why I mostly recommend people taking direct non-stop flights rather than layovers. I have learned from experience twice and both times were so stressful and my palms were sweating. I know sometimes people have no choice but to have layovers whether or not its one stop, two stop, 3 stop connectors. It is absolutely exhausting to find terminals, gate numbers, and you have to literally run because you are on a tight schedule. I can definitely relate. It is not a pleasant thing to go through, especially when flights are so close with each other in time.
I remember once I had 50-55 minutes to make it to my next flight when I flew to USA. The airports in USA are so spread out and huge, I had to switch terminals because one was from international to domestic, took a shuttle which took about 5-10 minutes to get to, and then followed by a long hallway to my gate and then I had to stop for a bathroom break, then by the time I got to my gate to sit down, not even 1 minute later they started to board my flight. I was completely exhausted, hungry and frustrated. I was almost going to cry. I was by myself which stressed me out even more.
Since then, I have never taken connecting flights and always looked for itineraries which has direct. I don’t care. I will pay more for my airfare, I will not go through what I went through. It was absolutely crazy.
Have you been through nightmares and frustrations with Connecting flights?
Safe travels!