International leisure travel is set to resume in England from 17 May under a traffic light system that classifies countries as red, amber or green based on their level of risk in relation to Covid-19.
On Friday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the long awaited “green list” of destinations from where returning travellers need not quarantine upon arrival back into the UK.
Only 12 places made the cut, including Portugal, Gibraltar, Iceland and Israel.
The list will be reviewed every three weeks, with destinations assigned a colour based on their case numbers, vaccination rates, and prevalence of any virus variants of concern.
But if your pre-booked holiday happens to be to a country that’s on the amber or red list, how do you go about getting a refund? Here’s everything you need to know.
Can I get a holiday refund if my destination is on the red or amber list?
Government guidance clearly advises travellers not to visit red or amber countries or territories for leisure purposes (i.e. a holiday).
This is devastating news for those who have booked holidays to the numerous tourist destinations that have been initially classified as amber, such as Spain, Greece, Malta and Croatia.
As a result of the new restrictions, many package holiday providers will cancel any imminent bookings to red or amber destinations.
Under the Package Travel Regulations, package holiday providers are required to offer customers a full refund if they make a “significant change” to your booking. It is questionable whether being required to quarantine for 10 days upon your return to the UK (required for arrivals from amber countries) falls under this provision. But even if not legally required to do so, many holiday providers will automatically cancel any trips to non-green list countries, or give customers the option to change their dates or destination.
Don’t rush to cancel an existing holiday booking yourself if the destination is now on the amber or red list though, as you may end up out of pocket. If you wait for your tour operator or travel agent to cancel the trip, you should be offered the choice of a full refund, credit/voucher or the option to rebook for a later date.
Jet2 has cancelled all holidays and flights up to and including 23 June, for example, with affected customers having their bookings automatically cancelled and refunded.
My holiday provider has cancelled my trip. Now what?
If your provider cancels your package holiday, you are entitled to a full refund, which, once requested, should be reimbursed to you within 14 days. However, as thwarted holidaymakers saw last year, the extraordinary scale of refund requests during the pandemic has frequently led to delays.
The Civil Aviation Authority accepted that it was “very challenging” for airlines to process the volume of claims that occurred at the peak of the crisis, for example.
Some providers may pressure you to accept a voucher instead, but you are legally entitled to a full refund should you want one.
Can I postpone my holiday instead?
Due to the uncertainty facing the travel sector right now, many companies have introduced flexible booking policies, enabling customers to reschedule existing holidays or change the destination, often up until fairly last minute.
Check with your provider or look at the terms of your agreement to see what you’re entitled to.
Airlines, which are usually notoriously inflexible, are also letting customers change their flights at no extra charge in many cases. EasyJet, for example, announced that passengers can change their flights without penalty up until two hours before departure. The policy will be in place until the end of September 2021.
Can I get a refund through my travel insurance?
It’s possible, but very few insurers are offering full protection to travellers who need to cancel their holiday due to Covid-19 restrictions.
However, it’s worth reading the small print on your travel policy to see what options might be available.
