UGH! Those dreaded words. For me, whether it is a client or me, I breathe and take a moment to think about next steps. Sometimes I even laugh! There is nothing that I or a client can do about a flight cancellation. This is the time to think about controlling what you can.

This past May I was on a river cruise on the Danube having the best time when we were told by cruise staff that there was a possible strike at the airport in our destination of Vilshofen, Germany. Just talk, so nothing for me to do but to be mindful. The next day a few people received notification that their flights had been cancelled while we we explored Salzburg.

My British Airways flight however, showed no issues. The airport had not released a statement and my flight had not been cancelled. Even with trip insurance, there was nothing that I could do until British Airways cancelled my flight.

The following day, news reports confirmed that ground crews at Munich Airport had scheduled a strike for Sunday, our departure day and the airport would be closed through Tuesday of the following week.

Still no word from British Airways, but at this point I knew it was only a matter of time. I started to search for best options to return to the States. Let me say that being creative is a gift! First, British Airways had not rebooked us. They offered us an option to rebook to depart Germany the following Tuesday. Keep in mind you do not have to take the new offer if it does not work for you AND you have insurance. I had a trip interruption, covered in my trip insurance. I proceeded to book our new itinerary.

Instead of getting off the cruise as scheduled on Sunday in Vilshofen, Germany, I chose to get off the cruise early, on Saturday. I booked us flights from Vienna, which we had visited days prior, to Washington Dulles Airport for the next day. We would arrive home on the same day that we were previously scheduled to arrive.

Our adventure took us on a train from Passau to Vienna.

Then to a funky hotel in Vienna at the airport! And a meal at Wolfgang Puck.

We departed from Vienna the next morning without issue en route to the States.

And the best part? We had travel insurance. The new flights, hotel, train, meals, and transfers were all covered by my travel insurance. As you can see we had a great time. I submitted a claim with my itravel insurance company when I arrived at home and was reimbursed within 10 days. Make sure you keep all receipts.

Cancelled flights will happen. Get the travel insurance and enjoy the adventure that awaits with the unplanned trip! AND there is a link on my website to travel insurance.