# Cancel a booking and record why

> Cancelling needs a reason type and a short note, both required, because that is what the cancellation report counts. A no-show is recorded by cancelling with the No-show reason after the start time.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/cancel-a-reservation
Section: Scheduling and dispatch. For: Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Instructors, Students, Renters, Technicians.

Open the booking, press **Cancel reservation**, pick a reason type and write a short note.
Both are required, because the Cancellations report counts the reason types and reads the
notes. A no-show is recorded by cancelling with the **No-show** reason after the start
time has passed.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Technicians

Whoever created a booking can also cancel it, whatever their role.

## Cancel one booking

1. **Open the booking, or use the block's menu**

   On `Calendar` (web console), click the block, or open the
   **…** menu on it and pick Cancel reservation.

2. **Press Cancel reservation**

   In the panel's **…** menu, beside the close button. The dialog opens.

3. **Pick a reason type and write the note**

   Both are required.

   ![Cancel reservation dialog](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/cancel-reservation-dialog.png)

4. **Press Cancel reservation**

   The booking comes off the board, everyone on it is notified, and their Google Calendar
   events are removed.

A booking that has already ramped out cannot be cancelled. It flew, so it has to be closed
out instead.

## Pick a reason and write the note

The reason types are a fixed list:

- Weather
- Aircraft maintenance
- Aircraft unavailable
- Instructor unavailable
- No-show
- Student or renter unavailable
- Rescheduled to another time
- Booked in error

Pick the closest one. The list is fixed so that the report can count it, and consistent
answers are the only thing that makes the count worth reading. Anything the list does not
cover goes in the note.

The note is capped at 200 characters and cannot be left blank. An empty note is refused
with a prompt to say briefly what happened.

> **Note:** There is no **Other** on the list any more. It was removed on purpose, because it had
> become the most common answer and told nobody anything. Cancellations recorded under it
> before it went still report as Other, and cancellations from before reason types existed
> report as `Not recorded`, kept visibly separate from real answers.

## Cancel a repeating booking

Open any occurrence and cancel it as normal. Under the note, the dialog adds a scope:

| Choice                      | What it cancels                   |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| This booking only           | That one occurrence.              |
| This and all later bookings | That one and everything after it. |
| All bookings in the series  | The whole series.                 |

> **Careful:** Bookings that have already started are never cancelled by a series cancel, whichever scope
> you pick. **All bookings in the series** does not reach backwards into flights that have
> already happened, so it will not erase your history.

## Record a no-show

There is no No-show button on a booking, and people do look for one. A no-show is a
cancellation with the **No-show** reason type, logged after the start time has passed.

Doing it that way is what makes it countable. A cancellation logged after the start time
is the latest possible notice, so it lands at the bottom of the notice-given chart and
shows up as exactly what it was.

## Where cancelled bookings go

Nothing is destroyed. The record is kept, which is the only reason the report is honest.

But cancelled bookings are **not drawn on the web dispatch board** at any zoom level. To
find one:

- Open `Operations → Cancellations` (web console).
- Or open the booking's own link, which still works.
- Or use the iOS app's Reservations list, which includes cancelled bookings and has a Canceled filter.

## See what cancellations are costing you

`Operations → Cancellations` (web console) is the whole picture over a date
range: a summary by category and by how much notice was given, then a searchable,
exportable table.

![Cancellations](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/cancellations-report.png)

Open a row for the detail: the note, who cancelled it, and how much notice there was.
A cancellation inside 24 hours of the start counts as late.

The report is staff only. Owners, admins and dispatchers can see it.

## If Cancel reservation fails

The dialog stays open with your typed reason intact, so nothing is lost. Read the message:

| Message                                       | What it means                                                                                                                                                    |
| --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `You are unauthorized to make this request.`  | You are not staff, not a technician, and did not create this booking. An instructor assigned to somebody else's booking hits this. Ask an admin or a dispatcher. |
| A message about the booking having ramped out | It has flown. Close it out rather than cancelling it.                                                                                                            |

More in
[Why can't I edit, move or cancel this booking?](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/why-cant-i-edit-move-or-cancel)

After a cancel, eligible members who stood by can receive a time-limited
[offer](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/scheduling/standby-and-slot-offers) instead of a silent rebook.