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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Julie Delahaye

Coronavirus travel: Ryanair lets more passengers change flights for free during pandemic

Ryanair is temporarily waiving its change fees for passengers amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The budget carrier had previously offered the policy for new and existing bookings in March, but now it is extending the offer for flights in April too.

The airline usually charges up to £65 per passenger each way at the time of booking, or up to £95 per passenger when the changes are applied after the booking has been made.

However, the uncertainty caused by coronavirus has been wreaking havoc on the aviation industry, and the airline is offering some flexibility by temporarily letting passengers rebook flights free of charge.

The policy applies to both existing bookings as well as new customers. It's worth noting that if the new flight costs more than your original booking, you'll still need to pay the fare difference.

If you're due to travel, you can also check out the airline's dedicated coronavirus updates page for passengers.

Ryanair is waiving change fees for March and April (PA)

The coronavirus pandemic has already had a significant impact on Ryanair, like it has on many airlines.

In fact, it's already had to cancel flights to Italy, and significantly reduce flights to Spain, after the FCO advice changed to advise Brits against all but essential travel to the destinations.

The budget carrier has also warned that it will suspend all flights to Europe in the next seven to ten days as more countries continue to be hit by the deadly coronavirus.

The FCO currently advises against travel to over 35 countries.

Meanwhile, there have been thousands of flight cancellations with major airlines including British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and TUI all affected.

If the FCO changes its advice and restricts travel to a destination that results in your flights being cancelled, change fees don't apply in this scenario.

If the FCO advises against travel and your flight is cancelled, then you are entitled to either a full refund, a free replacement flight to your final destination, or a free replacement flight at a later date (for example, once the travel restrictions have been lifted).

You can read more in our coronavirus travel guide which covers what to do if your destination is affected, if you no longer want to travel, or if there's an outbreak while you're abroad.

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