Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers due to travel in June and July face having their holiday cancelled as the 14-day quarantine deadline for arrivals looms.
Tui, Britains largest travel company had previously cancelled trips up to June 11. This was extended to July. Now, cancellations have been extended further 10 days to July 10 with no guarantees that there won’t be further cancellations “due to the ongoing travel restrictions”.
Almost all travel had been paused since March 17 amid the Coronavirus pandemic following the Foreign Office advice against all non-essential travel abroad. As yet there is no indication when this could change.
Cruise holidays with Tui’s Marella brand will not start before 31 July. Many sailings after that date have already been cancelled.
The government imposition of the 14-day quarantine on international arrivals into the UK airports, ferry and international rail terminals has prompted Tui to take this action.
The quarantine rules apply to all holidaymakers including Brits returning from their holiday. This will be reviewed on 29th June.
Tui has also cancelled “Lakes and Mountains” trips before the end of September and their Marella cruise line has cancelled all sailings on or before 30 July 2020, with some ships delayed further.
Holidaymakers whose holiday has been cancelled are entitled to a full refund within 14 days, according to the Package Travel Regulations. However, Tui has struggled to meet this timescale and some have had to wait a few weeks for their refund.
Tui is offering an incentive of a 20 per cent bonus for those who are prepared to postpone their trip if the holiday is a package holiday.
Anyone wanting a refund should wait for a refund credit code before they request the cash via an online form on the TUI website.
Some travel companies concerned about the long term effect on travel, are urging the Home Secretary Priti Patel to scrap the quarantine.
Andrew Flintham, Tui’s UK & Ireland managing director, said:
“It is critical to allow people to begin to fly again as soon as possible, to help protect jobs and allow those that want to travel to do so.
“We therefore call upon government to give a clear timeline for when the current FCO advice will be reviewed and decide on alternatives to a blanket quarantine, such as air bridges, as quickly as possible.”
Jet2 holidays have suspended all their trips until July 14.
