TUI has announced it has been forced to cancel flights to holidays hotspot La Palma due to ongoing disruption caused by a volcano eruption on the island.
The travel giant has confirmed that it is currently cancelling all La Palma flights until November 3, meaning families who had booked La Palma holidays for October half term will be affected. Other Spain holidays are currently unaffected.
The company said that it would be contacting holidaymakers who are impacted by the cancellations to discuss options.
When an airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a full refund - however you may also be offered alternatives such as rebooking or amending to a different destination.
The tour operator issued a statement on its website explaining: "Due to the ongoing situation we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all flights to La Palma departing up to and including 3 November 2021. All impacted customers will be contacted directly to discuss their options.
"We’d like to reassure customers due to travel to any other Canary Islands that our flights are currently operating as planned however we will continue to monitor the situation and contact them should their holiday be impacted.
"We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this time."
You can find more information and other updates on the TUI website here.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island began erupting around three weeks ago, on Sept. 19. Since its initial eruption it has destroyed nearly 1,186 buildings and engulfed 1,218 acres acres of land.
It's estimated that approximately 6,000 people have now been evacuated from their homes.
At the time of writing, the Canary Islands' authorities have said that they are not proposing new evacuations or confinements because although there are lava flows on the island, their progress has slowed and there are no "new spills".
The Foreign Office still allows for travel to the Canary Islands, although it does warn in its Spain travel advice that: "On Sunday 19 September 2021, at approximately 15.15 local time, there was a volcanic eruption on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma. The immediate areas of Los Llanos de Aridane, Tazacorte and El Paso have been evacuated."
Last week, blocks of molten lava the size of three-storey buildings were seen rolling down a hillside on La Palma amidst a series of tremors.
It has been 50 years since the volcano last erupted in 1971, which lead to the evacuation of the town of Fuencaliente at the time.
La Palma's airport is open at the time of writing, although its website flags that a number of airlines are suspending their flights to/from the destination, and advises passengers to check directly with their airline.
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