When your flight changes

Know what you can ask for.

A typhoon may explain a cancellation, but it does not automatically erase every passenger right. Your options depend on the route, operating airline and the actual reason for the disruption.

Often still available

Rerouting

Ask the airline to get you to your ticketed destination at no extra fare where applicable.

Often still available

Ticket refund

If the airline cancels and you choose not to travel, many regimes preserve a refund right.

?Depends on the rules

Meals & hotel

EU and UK care duties can survive bad weather; several Asian regimes treat this differently.

×Often excluded

Fixed compensation

A genuine typhoon is commonly an extraordinary event, but the airline may need to prove the link.

Before you tap
“cancel booking”

If it is safe and practical to wait, let the airline make the operational decision. Cancelling the booking yourself while the flight is still scheduled can be treated as a voluntary cancellation, leaving you with only the fare rules you bought. If you need to act earlier, first ask the airline for a written waiver and check your travel insurance.

Direction matters

Shanghai and Copenhagen

The same city pair can have different protection depending on which way you fly and which airline operates the flight.

PVG → CPH · China Eastern

Usually not covered by EU261

The flight starts outside the EU and is operated by a non-EU airline. Start with Chinese rules, the airline’s conditions of carriage and insurance. An EU codeshare number alone does not necessarily change the operating carrier.

CPH → PVG · any airline

Covered by EU passenger rules

The flight departs from the EU. If a typhoon causes cancellation, fixed compensation may be excluded, but the airline must still offer the applicable refund or rerouting choice and care while you wait.

Official starting points

Find the rules covering you

More than one regime can sometimes be relevant. Start with the departure country, then check the destination and the operating airline—not only the company that sold the ticket.

Route-based

EU / EEA / Switzerland

Covers flights departing the region on any airline, and arrivals from outside when operated by a regional airline. For cancellations, refund or rerouting and care remain even when proven adverse weather removes fixed compensation.

Your Europe official guide ↗
Route-based

United Kingdom

Covers departures from the UK and arrivals on UK or EU airlines. A cancelled covered flight brings a refund or alternative-flight choice plus care; compensation depends on cause and notice.

UK CAA cancellation guide ↗
Departures & stopovers

Mainland China

Ask for timely updates and written proof of the delay or cancellation. Refund or rebooking follows the applicable ticket and carrier terms. For weather disruption at origin, the airline must help arrange meals or lodging, but the passenger normally pays.

CAAC flight-regularity rules ↗
Philippine flights

Philippines

The Air Passenger Bill of Rights provides options including refund or rebooking after cancellation. When force majeure such as a typhoon is the cause, additional airport assistance is more limited and personal care costs may remain yours.

Philippines CAB passenger rights ↗
Departing Thailand

Thailand

Regulation 101 covers Thai domestic flights and scheduled international flights departing Thailand. It provides cancellation care and refund or rerouting options; extraordinary circumstances including adverse weather can remove fixed compensation.

Thailand CAAT rights guide ↗
Consumer guarantees

Australia

There is no EU-style automatic cash scale. Consumer guarantees may provide a replacement or refund when service is not supplied within a reasonable time, assessed from the delay, cause and alternative offered. Airline terms also matter.

ACCC travel guidance ↗
Flights to, from or within

United States

If the airline cancels or significantly changes a covered flight and you choose not to travel, you are entitled to an automatic refund regardless of the reason. Federal rules do not require weather compensation, meals or hotels.

US DOT refund rules ↗
Flights to, from or within

Canada

Extreme weather is outside airline control, so inconvenience compensation and standard care are generally unavailable. The airline must still provide communication and applicable rebooking or refund options, with details depending on airline size and timing.

Canadian CTA rights guide ↗
Contract-led protection

Singapore

Singapore does not provide the same fixed cancellation scheme as the EU. Start with the operating airline’s conditions of carriage and any law applying at the other end of the route. Unresolved local consumer disputes may be eligible for CASE support or the Small Claims Tribunals.

Singapore consumer complaint routes ↗

What to do when the alert arrives

Make the airline state what happened, choose the remedy that matches your plans, and preserve a clean record in case you need to claim later.

01

Confirm with the airline

Bagyo is an early warning. The operating airline or airport is the authority for whether the flight is cancelled.

02

Ask for the cause in writing

Save the cancellation message and request written confirmation of the specific operational reason.

03

Choose refund or rerouting

Do not accept a voucher automatically. Ask which cash-refund and replacement-flight options apply first.

04

Request care before spending

Ask for meals, lodging and transport. If the airline cannot provide them, keep spending reasonable.

05

Keep every receipt

Save tickets, screenshots, chat logs and itemised receipts. Avoid luxury expenses you cannot justify.

06

Escalate in order

Complain to the operating airline, then the relevant regulator or dispute body, and notify your insurer promptly.

A useful first message

Ask clearly, without guessing the law

Replace the brackets and send this through the airline’s written complaint channel.

Flight [number] on [date] from [origin] to [destination] was cancelled or delayed. Please confirm the specific cause in writing and the options available under the passenger rules and conditions of carriage covering this journey. I choose [rerouting at the earliest opportunity / refund to the original payment method]. Please also confirm what care or reasonable expenses you will provide while I wait.