Return boat cancelled: protecting your flight home

If your return boat is cancelled, ask the operator or resort for another sailing, tell the airline early, and decide the time at which you must switch to a fallback plan. Protect the flight first and the room second, and keep every message as proof.

This page gives you the order of calls and the questions to ask. For the wider journey, see how the trip fits into four legs, and read our general guide on cancelled boat transfers.

What do you do in the first half hour?

Move in this order.

1. Check your flight time and work backwards to the latest you must leave the island.
2. Ask the operator or resort for the next sailing, and any other way off.
3. Message the airline, even if you are not sure yet.
4. Tell the mainland hotel or driver, if you have one waiting.
5. Screenshot the cancellation and your flight booking.

Do not wait until every answer is clear. Early information gives everyone more options.

What do you ask the operator and the resort?

Ask these and write down the replies:

• Is there another boat today, and when does it leave?
• Is there another jetty, route or charter that can reach the mainland?
• If so, what does it cost, and who pays?
• Can you confirm all of this by message?
• If nothing sails today, when is the first boat tomorrow?

Only the operator can confirm what is possible, so ask rather than guess. Our guide on rough sea warnings explains why sailing can stop for the whole day.

What do you tell the airline?

Tell the airline as early as you can that you may miss the flight, why, and what you propose. Ask:

• Can I change the flight, and what does it cost?
• If I miss the flight, what happens to my ticket?
• Is there a later flight today or tomorrow?
• Can you note my situation on the booking?

Airlines treat a missed flight and a changed flight differently, and their terms vary by ticket. Read yours, and keep their reply. A separate boat ticket is a separate contract, as our page on who pays when a connection fails explains.

When do you switch to the fallback?

Set a switch time before you are stressed. For example: “If we are not on a boat by this time, we tell the airline we will miss the flight and plan a night on the island or the mainland.” Fix that time using your own flight.

For a safer plan, our page on a spare day before a flight explains why some travellers leave the island early, and a mainland night on return shows how to protect a late boat.

What proof should you keep?

Keep it all in one folder on your phone.

• The cancellation message and your boat ticket.
• Your flight booking and any airline message.
• Every call time and name, and written replies.
• Receipts for extra nights, meals and transport.

Read travel insurance and missed boat connections to see what your policy needs.

A better fit if…

Waiting for the next boat may be a better fit if you have a wide margin before the flight and the operator confirms a new time. Switching to a fallback may be a better fit if the margin is thin, you travel with children, or the sea warning will last. Send us the details and we will help you decide.