CHARLOTTE -- Soon, thousands of people will travel for the holidays. But a close call with the Grinch, in the form of a computer glitch that gave pilots days off, almost canceled thousands of American Airlines flights on peak holiday travel days.

American Airlines and the pilots union were able to come to an agreement, so those flights will have pilots and not be canceled. But this close call left many people wondering, are you protected if something like this cancels your holiday plans?

“That was going to be an interesting one to see exactly whether or not that was going to be covered,” Tom Bartholomy, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont and Western North Carolina, said.

According to the Aviation Consumer Protection Bureau, in the United States, airlines are not required by law to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or canceled.

In general, if your flight is canceled, most airlines will re-book you on their next available flight.

And while buying an insurance policy for your trip may help, experts warn, don't assume you're covered 100%.

Bartholomy said “Just because it's easy and just because it sounds like it's really inexpensive doesn't mean that it's going to give you the peace of mind that you hope it's going to give you.”

Roni Fishkin with Mann Travels told us reach out to a travel expert to go through all the details of an insurance policy.

“Different policies cover different things,” Fishkin said. “You have to speak to a travel professional so that the fine print is recognized.”

For more information on what airlines can and cannot do, click here.