There’s nothing like a flight cancellation to throw your vacation plans into disarray as hundreds of stranded travellers who bought tickets for SkyGreece Airlines flights between Toronto and Athens found out this week.

But flight cancellations are a common headache that many travellers will have to deal with at some point. Here’s what to do if you find yourself stranded at an airport:

Book a new flight:

Bill Clark, an aviation lawyer with Toronto-based Clark and Company says the first thing to do when your flight gets cancelled is to find another way home.

Airline staff will often tell passengers to return to the airline’s counter and rebook their flight. While you wait, you should try calling the airline directly, since you may be able to rebook your trip with them over the phone without having to wait in line.

Try also reaching out to the airline’s social media team if you have a smartphone. E-mailing and tweeting at the company about your situation can sometimes help.

Many major airlines, such as Air Canada, will add flights when a flight is cancelled, if they have extra crews and capacity. If all the airline’s flights to your destination are already booked, it’s time to go check other airlines.

Contact your credit card company:

If you used a credit card to book the flight, you may be able to ask the credit card company for a chargeback on the price of the ticket, on the grounds that the airline didn’t provide the service you paid for.

With larger, well-established airlines, getting a chargeback for a cancelled flight isn’t usually a problem. But it can be with smaller, lesser-known companies, especially if the cancellation was caused by the airline’s financial situation.

Some credit cards such as the HSBC Premier MasterCard and the ScotiaGold Passport Visa card have built-in insurance to protect cardholders in case of flight cancellations and can automatically refund some or all of the cost of your ticket.

Contact your travel agent:

Travel agencies will often rebook or refund flights for their customers even when the airline won’t. If you’ve booked your trip through one of these companies, keep you travel agency’s contact information handy when travelling and contact them as soon as possible if your flight is cancelled.

Clark notes that British Columbia and Ontario have legislation to protect travellers.

“(Passengers) may be entitled to compensation funds in those provinces, and eventually they may get their money back,” he told CTV’s Canada AM.

Customers who buy airline tickets from travel agents or websites registered with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) are eligible for refunds if an airline declares bankruptcy.

In the case of SkyGreece, however, there may be no compensation because the airline has only suspended operations, not declared bankruptcy.

Contact the Canadian embassy:

If you’re stranded overseas for more than 24 hours and the airline has not been able to rebook or refund your trip, it may be time to contact your closest Canadian embassy.

It’s unlikely that an embassy will help you rebook your trip, but it can provide information about your flight alternatives and hotel arrangements, as well as how to transfer funds if necessary.