Flight disrupted? Save these documents before they disappear
You do not need a suitcase full of paperwork. A few clear records can show what you booked, what went wrong, what the airline told you and what the disruption cost you.
At a glance
Save these first
Booking
Original confirmation, itinerary and flight numbers
Travel
Boarding pass or other reliable proof of travel
Disruption
Airline delay, cancellation and rebooking messages
Costs
Itemised receipts for reasonable expenses you paid
Digital records are fine. The important thing is to save them before old flight details disappear from an app or account.
Quick answer
Keep enough to tell the story of the journey
Start with your booking confirmation, itinerary, boarding pass or other travel proof, and the airline messages showing the delay, cancellation or rebooking. If another airline actually operated the flight, keep the booking that shows both airline names.
If the disruption cost you money, keep itemised receipts for reasonable meals, accommodation, transport or replacement travel. Save original emails, screenshots and PDFs rather than relying on memory months later.
On this page
What to keep
Four records do most of the heavy lifting
These documents help show who travelled, what was booked, what changed and what the disruption cost you.
Booking confirmation and itinerary
Keep the booking reference, passenger name, route, flight numbers and the original scheduled departure and arrival times.
Boarding pass or other proof of travel
A paper or mobile boarding pass can help connect you to the flight. If you no longer have it, keep any other reliable record showing you were booked to travel.
Airline messages about the disruption
Save the first cancellation or delay message, later updates, rebooking details and any explanation the airline gives for what happened.
Receipts for money you had to spend
Keep itemised receipts for reasonable meals, hotel accommodation, local transport or replacement travel you paid for because of the disruption.
Build a simple timeline
Your evidence should make the journey easy to understand
You are not trying to build a legal case file. You are simply preserving the facts while they are still easy to find.
What you originally booked
Save the original itinerary before accepting changes. It shows what the journey was supposed to look like.
What the airline told you
Keep the earliest delay or cancellation message and every important update after it. The timing of those messages can matter.
What actually happened
Keep the replacement itinerary and note when you eventually reached your final destination if the arrival delay may affect your rights.
What you had to pay yourself
Keep itemised receipts and, where useful, proof of payment for reasonable disruption costs.
If you paid expenses yourself
Keep itemised receipts, not just the card charge
A bank statement can show that money left your account. An itemised receipt shows what you actually bought and why the cost may be connected to the disruption.
Meals and refreshments
Keep the itemised restaurant, café or food receipt. A card statement alone may show the payment but not what you bought.
Hotel accommodation
Keep the hotel invoice showing the property, date, room cost and amount paid.
Local transport
Keep taxi, ride-hailing, train, bus or other transport receipts where the cost arose because of the disruption.
Replacement travel
If you had to arrange another journey yourself, keep the new ticket, confirmation and payment record together with the original booking.
If your journey is more complicated
Keep the whole journey, not just the disrupted flight
Connections, codeshares and replacement flights can put several airline names on one trip. The complete itinerary makes the story much easier to follow.
Two airlines appear on the booking
Keep the full itinerary showing both the airline that sold the ticket and the airline named after “operated by.” The operating airline can matter when working out who is responsible.
You had a connecting journey
Keep every flight on the same booking, not only the disrupted leg. A missed connection can make your final arrival time more important than the delay on the first flight alone.
You were moved to another airline
Keep both the original and replacement itineraries. They show what you booked, what changed and which airline eventually carried you.
Your booking changed inside the airline app
Take screenshots or download the itinerary before old flight details disappear. The original schedule can be difficult to recover later.
Save it before it disappears
Digital evidence is useful — as long as you actually keep it
You do not need paper copies of everything. The goal is simply to preserve clear records that you can still open later.
Screenshot important app screens
Airline apps can replace old information after rebooking. Save the original flight, disruption notice and replacement journey while they are still visible.
Keep the original emails
Do not rely only on copied text. The original email preserves the date, time and sender and is easier to understand later.
Keep clear copies, not edited versions
PDFs, screenshots and photos are fine. Keep the complete document visible and avoid cropping away dates, flight numbers or other useful details.
Store personal documents carefully
Travel records can contain personal information. Keep them somewhere secure and share identity documents only when they are genuinely required.
Quick checklist
Before you close the airline app or delete the emails
Original booking confirmation and itinerary
Boarding pass or other reliable proof of travel
Earliest cancellation or delay notification
Later airline updates and any explanation of the cause
Replacement-flight or alternative-travel details
Actual final arrival time where you can record it
Itemised receipts for reasonable disruption expenses
The airline's claim reference, reply or rejection if you already contacted it
Keep exploring
Related passenger-rights guides
Flight disruption expenses
See which out-of-pocket costs may be relevant after a disruption and why itemised receipts matter.
Read guideClaim deadlines
Understand why saving evidence early matters when the time available to make a claim can differ by country.
Read guideAirline rejected your claim
See what to check in an airline rejection and how your saved evidence can help you understand the next step.
Read guideCheck your journey
Have your flight details? Check whether you may be owed compensation
Travaro checks your journey against the passenger-rights rules we support and can manage an eligible compensation claim from assessment through resolution.
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