British Airways has made a number of changes to its cancellations policy amid warnings that Brits could be refused entry into Europe after coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.
It comes as the airline, owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), announced plans to cut 12,000 of its workforce this week, with more an a quarter of its pilots set to be made redundant.
Under BA's current guidelines, if your flight has been cancelled, you can reschedule it to an alternative date, claim a voucher to the same amount or contact its customer services for a full cash refund.
Vouchers will need to be used by April 30, 2022 (departure and return) and can be applied for onlne.
However, the airline has come under fire for its cash refunds policy - stating customers will need to call its helpline to request their legal right to their money back.
This week, the company also made new changes to holidays up to July 31, 2020.
Under current rules, if you choose to cancel a pre-booked holiday, you could lose all or part of your money.
However, British Airways now says that if you are due to travel between now and 31 July 2020 and choose to cancel, you will be able to claim a voucher instead. This means you won't lose out.
This will be to the value of your booking and will be valid for travel until 30 April 2022.
"If you are due to travel between now and 31 July 2020 and you decide you no longer wish to travel, you can claim a voucher to the value of your booking, valid until 30 April 2022," the company explains online.
"Vouchers can be used as payment, or part payment, for a future booking. Your new trip booked with a voucher must be fully completed by 30 April 2022 (departure and return). You will receive your voucher by email within seven days of your application."
Should I cancel my holiday for a voucher instead?
Under current guidelines, if an airline cancels your holiday due to the pandemic, you will be entitled to a full cash refund.
However, if you cancel it yourself, you could lose all or part of the cash - and may be asked to claim any losses back from your travel insurer instead.
Bear in mind that if you opt for BA's new policy, you are effectively writing off any chances of a cash refund on that ticket.
This means it may be worth holding out to see British Airways cancel the booking closer to the date themselves.
"BA has launched a new cancellations policy," consumer expert Martin Lewis explained.
"However, it might not work for everyone.
"Remember, if an airline cancels your flight, you can get a full cash refund.
"If you cancel it, you'll get a voucher, so it may be worth holding out to see what happens."
Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, added: "British Airways seems to be offering lots of options to customers except the one they want - an easy way to get cash refunds for flights the airline has cancelled.
"We would advise customers against cancelling their British Airways flights in return for vouchers. The airline may cancel flights through July, in which case you would be entitled to a cash refund anyway. That means when you do want to rebook in future, you can spend your money with the airline that has the best deal to your destination rather than being forced to fly BA because of the voucher.
"The aviation regulator needs to start taking action against airlines that are playing fast and loose with the rules on refunds."
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