If your flight is cancelled or badly delayed, confirm the disruption through the airline, secure a suitable replacement or refund, protect any connecting bookings and keep evidence of every reasonable expense. Use the airline’s app while joining the service desk or phone queue—available replacement seats can disappear quickly.
What to do immediately
- Verify the flight status. Check the airline’s app or website and the airport departure board. Treat unexpected emails and text-message links cautiously; open the official app directly.
- Check your new itinerary. The airline may have rebooked you automatically. Confirm the date, airport, connections, cabin, baggage allowance and passenger names before accepting.
- Use several contact channels. Try self-service rebooking while joining the airport queue or calling. If you booked through a travel agent, the agent may need to manage the ticket.
- Ask why it happened. Request the reason for the delay or cancellation in writing. Whether it was an airline-controlled issue, weather, air traffic control, airport closure or another external event can affect assistance and claims.
- Protect the rest of the trip. Contact accommodation, car hire, cruise, tour and transfer providers before you are marked as a no-show.
- Save everything. Keep boarding passes, booking confirmations, screenshots, messages, names of staff, timestamps and itemised receipts.
Your main choices
| Situation | What to request | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Short delay and you still want to travel | Updated departure details and any assistance offered | Connection time, gate changes and last transport at arrival |
| Flight cancelled | Suitable replacement at no extra charge or an eligible refund | Whether the entire booking or only one sector is affected |
| Replacement is unreasonably late | A different reasonable replacement or refund | Australian Consumer Law and the airline’s disruption policy |
| Overnight disruption | Accommodation, meals and ground transport where available | Cause of disruption, airline limits and insurance cover |
| Separate connection at risk | Help from both airlines, then your insurer | Minimum connection and missed-connection terms |
| Trip no longer serves its purpose | Refund rather than an unwanted credit | Unused sectors and whether a return to origin is required |
Rebooking: get the whole journey checked
Ask for the earliest reasonable route that gets you to your ticketed destination. Search the airline’s own timetable before speaking to an agent so you can suggest workable flight numbers, but understand that a seat shown for sale is not always available for disruption rebooking.
If all flights are on one ticket, ask the airline to protect every remaining sector and confirm checked baggage will follow the new route. A changed first flight can invalidate later sectors if the booking is not reissued correctly. Check frequent-flyer or upgrade bookings too.
Do not accept a replacement merely because it is offered first. A different airport, overnight stop, lost cabin class or arrival after the event you are attending may not be suitable. Explain the practical problem calmly and ask what alternatives are authorised.
Should you accept a refund or travel credit?
If you are entitled to a refund, a credit does not automatically have to be the better option. A refund returns purchasing flexibility; a credit may have an expiry date, named-passenger restriction, fare-difference requirement or limited routes.
Before accepting a credit, check:
- its expiry and whether travel must be booked or completed by that date;
- whether it can be used across multiple bookings;
- whether it is transferable or restricted to the original passenger;
- what happens when a new fare costs less or more;
- whether fees apply; and
- whether accepting it settles or limits another claim.
If the airline cancels or significantly delays the service and cannot provide an alternative within a reasonable time, Australian Consumer Law may give you a choice between a different replacement service and a refund. A fare labelled “non-refundable” does not remove statutory rights when the airline fails to supply the service as required.
What does “reasonable time” mean in Australia?
Australian Consumer Law does not set one fixed number of hours for every flight. According to the ACCC, relevant factors include the length and cause of the disruption, whether the airline moved you to another service, and when that alternative departs.
The context matters. A next-day flight might be tolerable for an open-ended holiday but useless for a same-day meeting, funeral, cruise departure or connecting international service. Tell the airline why timing was essential and retain evidence.
If the original airline has no reasonable replacement and you must buy another airline’s flight, the ACCC says you may have a right to reimbursement in some circumstances. This is not permission to purchase any ticket at any price: first ask the airline for a solution, document the available alternatives, minimise the loss and keep the receipt.
Meals, hotels and transport
Australian airlines publish disruption and compensation policies describing when they provide or reimburse reasonable meals, accommodation and transport. Entitlements and limits often depend on whether the cause was within the airline’s control. Weather, airspace closures and air traffic restrictions may be handled differently from crew, maintenance or operational problems.
Ask for vouchers or accommodation before paying yourself. If none is available and waiting would leave you stranded, request written confirmation that reasonable expenses can be claimed. Choose a sensible nearby option rather than luxury accommodation, and obtain itemised tax invoices.
Keep food spending reasonable and avoid claiming alcohol, entertainment or upgrades unless the policy expressly covers them. If you live near the airport, ask whether reasonable transport home and back is available instead of a hotel.
If you booked through a travel agent or website
The company that issued the ticket may control changes and refunds, even when airport staff can rebook during an immediate disruption. Contact the agent and airline at the same time if departure is close.
Ask who holds your money, who is processing the refund and whether any agent fee is being deducted. Get the answer in writing. Consumer guarantees can apply whether eligible travel was booked directly, through an Australian travel agent or through certain Australian-facing websites, but the contractual chain can make resolution slower.
Connections and separate tickets
A protected connection on one ticket is normally handled as part of the itinerary. Separate tickets are riskier: the second airline may treat your late arrival as a no-show rather than accept responsibility for the first airline’s delay.
Contact the onward airline before departure closes and ask for flexibility. Then notify your travel insurer. Missed-connection cover may require a minimum scheduled connection time, proof of the original disruption and evidence that no other provider is paying.
If time matters, compare the cost of preserving the wider trip with waiting for a decision. Document why any replacement purchase was necessary and reasonable.
When travel insurance may help
Travel insurance can cover specified additional accommodation, meals, transport, cancellation costs or missed connections after a qualifying disruption. It does not cover every delay, and policies commonly impose waiting periods, benefit limits and exclusions for known events.
Call the insurer’s emergency-assistance line before making a major booking. Ask what evidence and approval are required. You generally cannot recover the same expense twice, so pursue the airline or travel provider first where it is responsible and disclose every reimbursement to the insurer.
If relying on credit card travel insurance, confirm the policy was activated and covers this traveller, trip and expense. Some policies require eligible costs to be paid with that same card.
Overseas flights may have stronger rights
The law of the departure country, arrival country or operating airline may provide additional assistance or fixed compensation. European passenger-rights rules, for example, can apply to certain flights departing the EU and some flights arriving there on an EU carrier. Other countries—including the United Kingdom, United States and Canada—have their own frameworks.
Do not assume that being Australian removes those rights, or that every international journey qualifies. Check the official regulator for the affected route and claim directly from the operating airline where possible. Be cautious with claims companies that take a substantial portion of compensation.
What not to do
- Do not cancel first in frustration. A voluntary cancellation can change how the booking is recorded and weaken your options.
- Do not rely only on verbal promises. Ask for written confirmation or note the agent’s name and time.
- Do not book an expensive replacement immediately. Give the airline a reasonable opportunity to help unless urgency makes that impossible.
- Do not abandon the airport without checking. A delay can shorten, and you may still need to meet the revised boarding time.
- Do not discard receipts. Bank statements alone may not show what was purchased.
- Do not assume a refund covers consequential losses. Hotels, events and separate tickets may require separate claims.
How to make a strong written claim
Send the airline a concise timeline containing:
- passenger names, booking reference, flight number and travel date;
- scheduled and actual departure or arrival times;
- the stated cause and evidence of cancellation or delay;
- the replacement offered and why it was or was not reasonable;
- the exact remedy requested;
- an itemised expense table with receipts; and
- a reasonable response deadline.
Quote the relevant airline policy and, where applicable, the Australian Consumer Law guarantee that services be supplied within a reasonable time. Remain factual and keep the case number.
If the airline refuses
- Use the airline’s formal customer-care or complaints process.
- If eligible and still unresolved, consider the Airline Customer Advocate for participating Australian airlines.
- Contact your state or territory consumer-protection agency, such as NSW Fair Trading.
- Report potentially misleading or systemic conduct to the ACCC, noting that it does not resolve individual disputes.
- Check the Australian Government’s Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme website for its current operating status. As at August 2026, the official scheme was still awaiting enabling legislation and the interim ombudsperson had no formal power to resolve individual complaints.
- For substantial losses, consider independent legal advice or the appropriate tribunal or court process.
A card chargeback may be relevant when a paid service is not supplied and a refund remains outstanding, but it is not a substitute for every consumer dispute. Contact the card issuer promptly because time limits apply, and do not pursue duplicate recovery.
Prepare before your next trip
- Install the airline app and enable operational notifications.
- Keep contact details current and store booking references offline.
- Allow sensible connection time, especially on separate tickets.
- Carry medication, valuables, chargers and essential documents in cabin baggage.
- Buy suitable travel insurance when you book, not after disruption becomes known.
- Use flexible accommodation and transport bookings when arriving late at night.
- Check travel advice, weather and airport conditions before leaving home.
Frequently asked questions
Does an Australian airline have to pay cash compensation for every delay?
No. Australia does not currently have a blanket EU-style fixed cash payment for every qualifying delay. Your rights depend on Australian Consumer Law, the airline’s policy, the contract and any foreign law applying to the flight.
Can the airline give me a credit instead of a refund?
It may offer one, but if consumer law or the applicable policy entitles you to a refund, a credit is not necessarily your only option. Ask the airline to explain the basis of its decision in writing.
Who pays when bad weather cancels the flight?
The airline should still explain your rebooking or refund options under its terms. Additional meals, accommodation or compensation may be more limited when the event is outside its control, making suitable travel insurance particularly important.
Will the airline pay for my missed hotel or event?
Not automatically. Consequential-loss claims depend on the circumstances, foreseeability, efforts to minimise loss and applicable law. Ask the hotel or event provider for flexibility and notify your insurer promptly.
How long should I keep my documents?
Keep the complete claim file until every airline, agent, insurer and card dispute is finalised and all payments have cleared. Retain copies for longer if a tribunal or legal claim may follow.
Sources and further reading
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