As travel demand continues to surge, passengers are increasingly encountering delayed and canceled flights. In 2024, around 96,300 flights of major U.S. airlines were canceled, an increase from 2023’s 87,900 canceled flights.
If it ends up happening to you while on a business trip, it's important to stay calm and consider your options. We’ll outline who to contact, your compensation options and some top tips to restart your journey as fast as possible. Keep this guide to hand and you’ll soon be on the move again.
Who to contact first
It’s important to let your travel manager know about the cancellation so they can help you plan your next steps. If your company uses a travel management platform like Perk, there will be various things they can do to help, like search for alternative routes or book you a local hotel.
If you’re unable to contact anyone because it’s in the middle of the night, or people are unavailable, make sure to leave them a voicemail or send an email with the following information:
The details of the cancellation
Your proposed next steps
How it may affect any booked business meetings and who should be informed
If you’re already at the airport and low on battery power or don’t have any phone signal, head to the airline ticket counter to ask for help. Most airports will have paid-for phone charging stations too, so you can head there next.
Get in touch with the airline
When informing their customers of a cancellation, many airlines will suggest alternative flights right off the bat. If you are happy with one of these options and it suits the requirements of your work trip, you can usually confirm these changes through the airline's app or online portal. If you need to pursue other solutions, get in touch with the airline as soon as you receive a notification.
The phone lines will likely be busy, so jump on any online chat options while calling customer support. Using social media to contact the airline should always be a last resort. These channels rarely have the systems in place to help with flight changes, and often, they will simply pass on the phone number for customer services.
If you’re already at the airport, there will probably be a long line at your airline’s helpdesk, so prepare to be patient.
Your compensation options
The airline is likely to offer you some options, such as:
Booking you onto an alternative flight
Providing vouchers for food and drink if you have a long wait at the airport
Booking you a hotel if it’s an overnight cancellation
Here is a comparison of what major US airlines offer:
Source: US Department of Transportation
Refund or reroute?
Whether you accept a refund or choose to travel on an alternative flight will depend on several factors.
The purpose of your business trip will be the main focus – are you traveling to close an important business deal? Or is it a scoping visit that could be taken at another time?
It will also depend on the length of the delay, if it’s going to involve an overnight stay while you wait for your rerouted flight, and the trip is not business critical, you may choose to take the refund.
Canceled flights incur lots of extra charges like amending parking reservations or missing car rental pick-ups. Don’t forget the shadow work and resulting administrative cost of rearranging all of those changes.
It can be useful for future business trip bookings to consider that flights earlier in the day are less likely to be canceled than those that are later. Direct flights are also less likely to involve cancellations or delays than those with connecting flights.
Talk to your business travel insurance provider
If you have existing travel insurance for business trips, it's worth speaking to your provider to see what support you can receive. Some travel insurance policies will include cover to reimburse expenses that occur due to a cancellation or delay.
Coverage often includes overnight stays, meals, transportation, and even the cost of phone calls. Just be sure to keep all boarding passes, confirmation emails, and any transcripts of conversations with the airline as proof for your claim.
Don’t forget the rest of your journey
A flight cancellation will affect other parts of your work trip too, such as car rental pick-up or hotel check-in. If you're using Perk, you’ll be able to amend any ongoing travel arrangements and change overnight stay details within the app. If not, make sure your travel manager knows they need to make those changes for you.
Use your online booking tool to get back on track
If your business trip was booked through Perk, rebooking your flights will be easy and stress-free. You can even book your own hotel if it’s a last-minute cancellation and you’re already at the airport.
When it comes to refunds and reconciling expenses, your travel manager will have full visibility of your journey within the platform, so you don’t need to worry about getting approval on your choice of hotel or flight.
Perk provides 24/7 support that combines human assistance with digital tools, something that was developed specifically to help stuck business travelers.
“In 2025, we launched our dedicated Customer Care Disruptions team, combining expertise from many areas including weather forecasting, operations, and disruption management,” said Kamil Jagodzinski, VP of Customer Care at Perk. “Since then, they’ve handled over 340 incidents worldwide, keeping travelers moving even during major events like strikes, airport power outages and destructive weather events. From contacting affected travelers proactively with alternative travel options to adding alerts to the platform, agents have guided thousands of stranded professionals. That human-first approach is what keeps our travelers reassured and on the move.”
My flight was canceled - what are my rights?
While consumer rights vary between regions, for the most part, airlines will offer customers a full refund when their flight is canceled. As we have already seen, most airlines include significant delays within their policies for cancellations. So what outcomes can business travelers expect depending on their location?
Domestic flights within the United States
There are no federal laws in place to protect consumers in the case of a flight cancellation, unless you’re bumped from overbooked flights or delayed on the runway
Airlines in the US do not guarantee flight schedules and are not responsible for financial losses resulting from delays or cancellations
The universal response from US airlines is to issue a full refund for the remaining value of the ticket (either as cash or credit), or to accommodate travelers on a later flight.
Airlines have been increasingly persuading customers to accept vouchers when they are entitled to a cash refund. This credit is usually only valid for a year, so business travelers should push for cash wherever possible.
A few airlines will go beyond their essential duties and provide a higher level of customer service to canceled passengers. Jet Blue, for example, will offer $50 compensation to clients who face a cancellation within four hours of departure when they cannot provide a new flight within an hour of their scheduled slot.
International flights outside of the United States and Canada
Business travelers flying within the EU, on flights leaving any EU or EEA airport, or flying to Europe on an airline based within the EU, can make use of the following compensation if they face delays or cancellations.
Customers can claim a full refund for the cost of their airfare or a seat on the airline's next flight
If the airline cannot provide a suitable flight, the consumer is entitled to alternative transportation, including flying with a competitor. If this is more expensive than the original ticket, the airline must cover the fare difference
If there is no suitable solution, you have the right to a full refund. In the case of multi-leg journeys, you are entitled to a free flight back to your city of origin if you prefer to curtail your trip after your connecting flight is canceled
When delayed for 3 hours or more, travelers can apply for compensation ranging from rough $230-700, depending on the length of their flight
Airline passengers can also be reimbursed if their flight's arrival time is delayed by over two hours within two weeks of their scheduled departure date
As compensation is already fairly generous, European laws tend to be a little vague about compensating customers for meals or accommodation expenses accrued due to a delay or cancellation. Usually, the understanding is that this comes under the financial compensation offered, but some airlines will provide meal vouchers to spend in the airport as a gesture of goodwill.
How much notice do airlines give for canceled flights?
Put simply, there is no universal minimum “notice period” for canceling a flight. As explained above, the compensation you’re offered depends on whether the disruption is within the airline’s control and how long you’re delayed.
Do airlines have to provide a hotel if a flight is canceled?
It depends on the airline’s specific policy and the length of your delay. There is no legal obligation in the US to provide a hotel, so you’ll need to check the terms and conditions of your airline when booking a work trip. Delta offers customers whose flights are canceled between 10 pm and 6 am a complimentary overnight stay at a nearby hotel. When no rooms are available, Delta gives passengers a $100 voucher towards future travel instead.
Be prepared
Before speaking to the airline, take the time to look up the schedule for alternative flights, both from the original provider and their competitors. This approach makes it much easier for a customer service agent to help, as rather than having to search through a maze of options, they can start securing a seat on your preferred alternative straight away.
Customer service staff will be under a lot of pressure to rebook hundreds of people onto different flights, so doing this research beforehand will stand you in good stead.
If you’re a Perk customer, it’s a matter of a few taps in the app to rebook a work trip, which can save you hours waiting on the phone or in line at the airport.
Keep your cool with customer service
Cancellations to your business trip are stressful, and it can be difficult to stay calm while handling the fallout. Whether it's over the phone, online chat, or social media, when speaking with customer support agents, try to keep your interactions polite and friendly.
Like many of us, airline staff are under immense pressure. Most support agents will do all they can to assist, but are more likely to go the extra mile for customers who have treated them with respect.
If you are struggling and communication breaks down, it is better to hang up and try again than lose your temper. If you are repeatedly unable to reach a resolution, ask politely if you can speak to someone in upper management to start a formal complaint.
Adapt for future travel for work
For business travelers who need their arrangements to be more adaptable, services like FlexiTravel can be a real game-changer. Part of Perk’s comprehensive business travel management solution, FlexiTravel users can withdraw from their travel arrangements up to two hours before departure with a guaranteed refund of 80%, no questions asked. Plus, with 24/7 support, travelers can speak to a team of human customer care agents 365 days a year.
Book a demo today to find out how your next business trip could be your best yet.
Written by
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Growth Marketing Director
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