My partner and I were flying from Hong Kong to Madrid with a connection in Shanghai. The first flight was delayed due to weather, causing us to miss our onward flight.
After arriving in Shanghai late at night, we were directed to a service counter to be rebooked. From that point on, the experience went downhill. Communication was extremely difficult as staff spoke very limited English and made little effort to assist or explain things clearly. The interaction felt rushed and dismissive, and we were simply assigned new flights and told to go to a hotel without any proper explanation of the plan.
Getting to the hotel was also chaotic. We struggled to find the pickup point in the early hours of the morning, and after finally locating the correct person, we were blamed for delays and had to wait even longer for transport. By the time we reached the hotel, we had only a few hours to rest before returning to the airport.
The next day, things got worse. At check-in, we discovered that only one of us had a complete set of tickets for the new route, while my partner was missing a segment. Staff were unhelpful and directed us through the process without resolving the issue. Even at the boarding gate, attempts to clarify the situation were dismissed.
We ended up flying to Paris without knowing if my partner would be able to continue the journey. Fortunately, airport staff there helped resolve the issue and arranged the missing ticket so we could reach Madrid.
Overall, the experience highlighted how poor handling of disruptions can turn a manageable delay into a very stressful situation. The lack of communication, organization, and support made this one of the worst travel experiences we’ve had.
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