Once I had bought a return ticket to France, via a Japanese travel agency in Tokyo. However, she had forgotten to tell me that I had to change airports during the stopover. Coming from Tokyo, I found myself in Heathrow looking for the right terminal.
I looked, asked people, but when I came across a person who told me it wasn't in this airport but in Stanted 45 minutes by bus, it was already too late, the time for the bus to leave plus the one on the way and the boat formalities.
A good agency would have not only informed me of this kind of stopover but also booked the bus ticket in addition to the plane ticket.
So, I started desperately trying to book another ticket. Only there was no room in the airport where I was.
So, who could help me find a solution? I had to know who the best person was actually to get me out of this mess (I was stuck), who to understand my situation.
I've been thinking about the Stanted Airport service.
So, I went there, as I should have done earlier. As soon as I arrived there, I explained my case by showing it on my plane ticket and I must say that I was rather lucky.
If the failed flight was at 10pm, I was able to find a place available for a similar flight (same destination) the next day around 6-7am, free of charge. A chance!
I had to spend the night at the airport, but I can say that I was very happy to have had this place.
Here are some tips for "WELL" travelling:
do not plan to use the last shuttle or bus that allows you to arrive at the airport on time: if it was full or broken down, you will miss the plane, with no other recourse than to buy a new ticket on the next flight at your own expense at the daily rate as long as there is still room left.
parking lots are not always right in front of the airport entrance and 10 to 20 minutes to reach the airport gates are sometimes necessary.