What happens if your flight is delayed and a taxi is already booked?

Nothing goes wrong, provided one thing has already happened: you gave us the flight number when you booked. That single detail is what turns a delay from a problem into a non-event, and it's worth understanding exactly how it works so you're not standing in arrivals wondering whether a driver is still coming.

Why the flight number matters more than the booking time

A booking made without a flight number is really just a fixed time and address. If the flight moves, nothing tells the driver, because there's nothing linking the pickup to the actual aircraft. Add the flight number, though, and the pickup is tied to the flight itself rather than the clock — the system checks the real status and the driver's collection time shifts with it. It's a small detail at the point of booking that does a lot of quiet work later.

If you're being dropped off at the airport

A delay to your outbound flight before you've even left home changes nothing about the drop-off — you're still going to Heathrow or wherever you're flying from, just perhaps with more time to spare than expected. Occasionally an airline brings a departure forward instead of delaying it, which is the one direction that can catch people out, so it's worth checking your flight status yourself on the morning too. Either way, the pickup from your address happens at the time booked, because that leg of the journey doesn't depend on the flight at all.

If you're being collected from arrivals

This is where the flight number does its real job. If your inbound flight is delayed, we track it and adjust the collection time to match the actual landing, not the scheduled one. You won't come through arrivals to find a driver who gave up after waiting against a flight that was supposed to land an hour ago — the pickup shifts with the flight automatically, because that's exactly what giving us the flight number is for.

The same applies in reverse if a flight lands early, which happens more often than people expect on a tailwind. The driver still works from actual landing time, so an early touchdown doesn't mean an empty arrivals hall either.

What if the delay is severe?

For a delay of an hour or two, nothing changes beyond the adjusted pickup time — you don't need to call us, and we don't need to hear from you. For a longer delay, an overnight one, or a diversion to a different airport entirely, call as soon as you know, so the booking can be rearranged properly rather than left to update itself against outdated information. The earlier we know, the easier it is to simply move the booking rather than treat it as an emergency.

What if the flight is cancelled outright?

Call to cancel or rebook the pickup. There's no charge for a cancelled pickup where the flight itself didn't happen — we'd rather have the accurate picture and reallocate that driver's time than hold a booking against a flight that isn't coming. This is also the point where it's worth booking your replacement journey properly rather than leaving it to the last minute; see our guide on how far ahead to book an airport taxi if your new flight is on a different day.

The one thing that breaks this system

Not giving a flight number in the first place. Without it, a delay just looks like you're late, and a driver working off a fixed pickup time rather than live flight data has no way to know whether to wait or whether something's gone wrong. It's the difference between a system that adjusts itself quietly in the background and one that needs a phone call to fix. This applies whether you're flying from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton or one of the smaller airports we cover — the flight number is what makes any of them work properly.

Delays that happen the other way round — on the drop-off side

It's less common, but worth covering: sometimes it's your journey to the airport that's affected, not the flight itself. Traffic on the M4 or M25, roadworks, or an accident can occasionally threaten a tight check-in window even with a perfectly on-time flight. This is where booking with a company that knows the local roads around Burnham, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Marlow actually matters — a driver who knows an alternative route through Colnbrook or round via the A4 when the motorway is blocked can claw back minutes a satnav alone won't find. If you're ever worried about making a tight connection on the way there, say so when you book and we'll build in extra margin.

What we need from you, and when

Realistically, three things make any delay a non-event rather than a scramble: the flight number at the point of booking, a working mobile number so we can reach you if something changes on our end, and a call from you if the situation is unusual enough that automatic tracking won't cover it — a diversion, an overnight cancellation, or a rebooking onto a different airline entirely. None of this needs to happen at the time of the original booking except the flight number; the rest is just good practice for the day itself.

The practical version

Give the flight number every time, whether you're being picked up or dropped off, and a delay becomes something we handle in the background rather than something you need to manage from an arrivals hall. If anything feels uncertain on the day — a diversion, a very long delay, a change of terminal — call rather than wait and wonder. A two-minute conversation beats guessing, and it's also worth reading up on why meet and greet matters at Heathrow if you're new to flying through that particular airport.