Cancelled and delayed flights have led to many scrapped holidays - and you may have been watching the country-wide travel chaos at airports with concern.
If you are due to go on holiday abroad soon, the last thing you need to worry about is whether your flight will actually be able to take off.
UK airline passengers have been hit by disruption for several months due to a lack of staff after letting thousands of people go during the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 225 departures from UK airports were cancelled between Monday and Friday last week, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
All major airlines - including TUI, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 - have been hit with issues in recent weeks.
If you're heading away soon, here's advice for flying with certain airlines including important checks you should do before you travel.
How to check if your Jet2 flight is cancelled
Jet2’s Flight Tracker will let you find out the status of your Jet2 flight. Select a departure and arrival airport, or enter a flight number and select ‘Go’.
In addition, Jet2 have a handy section on their website halfway down their page titled Latest Travel Information. This shows frequent updates on the status of Jet2 flights, which was last updated three hours’ ago.
How to check if your easyJet flight is cancelled
The best way to keep up to date on the status of your easyJet flight with real-time information, is via easyJet’s Flight Tracker. This can also be accessed via their mobile app.
If your flight is more than two days in advance, sign in by using your booking reference and last name or your account details.
How to check if your Ryanair flight is cancelled
Ryanair’s Flight Tracker enables you to check the latest status of your Ryanair flight. If your flight has been affected by any disruption, you will receive an email and SMS notification from Ryanair.
How to check if your TUI flight is cancelled
TUI’s dedicated Flight Tracker enables you to check the status of your TUI flight by inputting the flight number and route.
How to check if your British Airways flight is cancelled
British Airways Flight Tracker allows you to check the status of your British Airways flight on their website and app.
What you should do before you travel
48-hours before you travel
If your flight has been cancelled, your airline or the company you booked your flight with, should make contact with you. This is usually by telephone or email.
Keep an eye on your email inbox and spam folder so that important messages don’t get missed.
24-hours before you travel
Keep an eye out on the social media channels of the airline you’re flying with, a few days’ in advance of your departure date. This may give you a heads-up on potential delays or cancellations, so you're as prepared as you can be.
Also look at your airline’s social media channels on the day of travel. This way you are keeping track in real-time of any change in scheduled flights.
On the day of your travel
On the day of your departure, check the status of your flight before you leave for the airport, using your airline’s app (from those mentioned above) or a third-party website such as FlightAware Flight Tracker. This flight-tracking data company lets search by flight number or route.
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