Airline switched my return airport

Transport
1

I was supposed to fly out and return to the same international airport for my trip.

I just got a message saying the airline changed my return airport to one that’s 45 minutes away…

However… When I arrive, the journey between the two airports will take closer to 2 hours or more and cost around 200 dollars for a taxi.

I had planned to park my car at the airport and drive home after my trip.

Now I need to find other options. I might find a ride but it will be the evening of New Year’s Eve in a major city.

Is it worth calling the airline and arguing with them? What can I do? If they can’t switch the airport back, am I likely to get a voucher or have my taxi covered?

The airline didn’t contact me directly. They just emailed me stating there was an update to my flight with the new return airport.

In all my years of travel and visiting many airports, this has never happened to me! I usually roll with the punches but I’m curious if it’s worth my time to call.

Thanks everyone

2

The email you received about the change should explain your options. You can ask for a refund if the new flight doesn’t work for you.

3

Teo said:
The email you received about the change should explain your options. You can ask for a refund if the new flight doesn’t work for you.

Thanks!

The email said

“We have identified a minor schedule change made by the airline. No action is required on your part. Please review your flights below.”

With the new airport that’s a ‘minor’ change.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find other direct flights to my original airport that day and the ones with connections are currently much pricier.

I’ll do my best to figure it out!

4

@Micah
It’s possible the airline will let you change to a different flight for free, since they changed the routing. Just reach out to them. (Though that might mean flying at a different time, a different day, or taking a flight with a connection.)

5

@Micah
Call them and ask for options. They should at least offer you some credit for this situation.

6

Kit said:
@Micah
Call them and ask for options. They should at least offer you some credit for this situation.

I tried before posting but was on hold for 50 minutes while on my break before I had to go back to work. I posted here to get some answers but I will definitely call them again when I can and have better service.

7

@Micah
That must be so frustrating. Good luck and safe travels.

8

@Micah
Did you book through a third party? The wording in the email makes it seem that way.

9

Jesse said:
@Micah
Did you book through a third party? The wording in the email makes it seem that way.

Yep, I booked through my credit card travel service.

10

Micah said:

Jesse said:
@Micah
Did you book through a third party? The wording in the email makes it seem that way.

Yep, I booked through my credit card travel service.

Call your credit card travel service.

11

The airline should reschedule to your original airport as long as flights are available, but the next available one might not be very convenient. Definitely call and find out.

12

Mai said:
The airline should reschedule to your original airport as long as flights are available, but the next available one might not be very convenient. Definitely call and find out.

Thanks! I will do that.

13

CALL the airline and ask them directly. No random person on this forum has access to their systems or policies.

14

Sparrow said:
CALL the airline and ask them directly. No random person on this forum has access to their systems or policies.

Didn’t you know that some people here have special knowledge for everything that just says ask the forum instead of the airline

15

@Avi
Shhh, we’re not supposed to mention the secret handbook. Violation of that rule might get you in trouble.

16

Check what flights are available to your original airport, then call the airline and ask to be put on that instead.

17

This happened to me once and they gave me a $50 credit. The difference in taxi price was only about $20, so all was okay. If it had been more, I would have pushed for more credits.

18

When a city has more than one airport that an airline services, this situation can happen. You can request to have it switched back to the original one, but it may change your timing completely.

I can’t recall which system handles that, but it often happens with cities that have more than one commercial airport.

19

@Han
That makes sense, thanks for explaining! Yes, my city has several airports. I’ve flown many times from here without this ever happening, except when one flight got canceled and I was offered a different airport that’s only 20 minutes away, but that was a domestic flight and was due to staffing issues.

20

@Micah
This happened to me a few times while I lived in NYC, but it wasn’t a big deal because I was traveling for work and used car services.

I would never choose to park at an NYC airport myself.