What happens if you oversleep and miss your flight? Or you get a flat tire on the way to the airport and arrive too late to check-in?

The number of people in that predicament — missing their flight — can be as high as 8%. So what are your rights?

Officially, you don’t have many– although it does get down to how much you paid for your ticket and if you’re on a nonrefundable fare. It gets down to communication: if at all possible, call the airline or your travel agent directly before the official departure time and explain your predicament.

Remember, a ticket change fee might actually have wiped out twenty years ago when airline counter agents had the flexibility to let you fly standby on a later flight. Today, with flights all being full, that option has been reduced and presumes the agent even has the authority to do that. But many of the senior counter agents remember the unwritten flat tire rule, where they actually will help to get you on their next available flight.

There’s always trip cancellation and interruption insurance, but read the policy language carefully. With many of them, there are exclusions for things like…oversleeping. So be sure to set two alarms.

For more information on a passenger’s rights on a flight, check out:

Know Your Rights When You’re on an Overbooked Flight

New Ways You Can Claim Compensation When Something Goes Wrong

If Your Flight is Canceled, Can You Sue?