## TL;DR

Airbase approval requests carry a timeout; when nobody acts in time, the request expires instead of hanging forever. Open the expired request, confirm the approver chain is still correct, and re-send or re-submit the request. If approvals keep expiring, the chain has too many levels or the wrong people, which is an admin fix.

## Error

```text
Airbase: approval request expired with no action taken
```

## Steps

1. Open the expired approval request in Airbase and confirm its status is expired. Expected: the request history shows the expiry event and the original approver list.
2. Verify the approvers are still the right people and still active. Expected: each approver in the chain is current and has not left or changed roles.
3. Re-send or re-submit the approval request. Expected: a fresh request goes out with a new timeout window.
4. Notify the approvers directly that the request is waiting. Expected: the approvers acknowledge the pending request.
5. If expirations recur, ask an admin to shorten the chain or adjust the timeout in the approval policy. Expected: subsequent requests complete within the window.

## When to use

- An Airbase approval request shows expired with no approver action.
- A requester is waiting on a request that silently timed out.
- Holiday or leave periods cause repeated approval expirations.

## When not to use

- The request was actively rejected (a decision, not a timeout).
- The approver is inactive (fix the approver assignment, not the request).
- The request is stuck in a system error rather than cleanly expired.

## Tool compatibility

Airbase with approval workflows (current 2026 releases). Applies to spend requests, reimbursements, and bill approvals.

### Variant phrasings

### airbase "approval timed out"

Same expiry in alternate wording. Re-issue the request.

### approval request vanished from the queue in airbase

Expired requests leave the active queue. Find them in the expired or completed history and re-send.

### repeated approval expirations in airbase

A chain or timeout design problem. Reduce approver levels or extend the window with an admin.

## Why it happens

Approval timeouts exist so requests do not block spend indefinitely when an approver is unavailable. The timeout fires, the request expires, and the requester must re-issue. Repeated expirations signal that the chain is misaligned with reality: too many approvers, approvers who are never available, or a timeout shorter than the organization's actual decision cycle.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_OxWnajSOT9-oPXTsARkrGQ