What are my refund and rebooking options?
How to recover costs and restore travel plans
When flights are cancelled or routes are suspended because of regional conflict, airlines, online travel agencies and governments are all juggling unprecedented volumes of requests. Options for getting your money back or rebooking depend on where you booked, the carrier’s policy, and the rules that apply to your itinerary.
What you can generally expect
- Airlines will often offer rebooking on their next available service, vouchers, or refunds; the form of redress varies widely by carrier and market.
- Repatriation or limited ‘special’ flights may be announced for stranded passengers, but these are typically prioritized and seats sell out fast.
- Where an OTA (online travel agency) sold the ticket, you may need to pursue the refund through that booking channel; some OTAs have helped customers rebook or secure refunds, while others have been slower.
Immediate steps to take
- Document everything: save emails, screenshots of cancelled flights, and any text from the carrier or OTA.
- Contact the original ticketing party first (airline or OTA). Ask explicitly for a refund if you prefer cash back rather than vouchers.
- If a carrier promises a refund and delays payment, consider filing a chargeback through your credit card issuer if the vendor fails to comply within a reasonable time.
- If you’re in the EU or on an EU carrier from an EU airport, check your eligibility under EU regulations; other markets have different rules.
- Use travel insurance where it covers war-related disruption or evacuation; policies vary and some may exclude acts of war.
If you’re stranded abroad, register with your embassy for repatriation updates and monitor announcements from carriers operating limited or special repatriation flights. Expect long hold times and fragmented policies right now; persistence, thorough documentation and escalating through official channels (airline customer relations, credit card dispute teams, consumer protection agencies) are often the fastest routes to a refund or usable rebooking.