I am nervous about taking my holiday. Can I cancel and get a refund?
Yes, in some cases. If the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (0870 606 0290) advises against 'non-essential' travel to your destination, most tour operators offer a refund or an alternative trip. Many - including Thomas Cook and Travelbag - are making their cancellation policies more flexible to try and get cautious travellers to book. But if you are nervous about travelling to a 'safe' destination, you will usually have to pay a cancellation fee, which increases the closer you get to the departure date.
What areas have seen/are likely to see changes in the Foreign Office (FO) advice?
Last week British nationals were advised against 'non-essential travel including holiday travel' to Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon and south-eastern Turkey. All travel to Kuwait and Israel and the Occupied Territories is now advised against. The FO recommends that travellers to the Gulf region check the advice daily. There is no guarantee that warnings will be relaxed quickly after the war, as the FO is unconvinced the threat of terrorism in the region will diminish with an end to hostilities.
How is the FO advice worked out?
A combination of local knowledge from embassies and intelligence agency information is used to assess the risk to UK tourists.
What happens if my holiday destination is deemed more dangerous while I'm out there?
If the FO advice is changed to discourage 'non-essential' travel your tour operator has a 'duty of care' to fly you home as soon as possible, and should refund you for the days' holiday you've missed. Sometimes they will put you up in a hotel if flights are deemed risky at the time.
What if I want to stay on?
You will be asked to sign an indemnity form by your tour operator, thus losing your right to sue them if something goes wrong. Some tour operators are unhappy about allowing you to stay and may lean quite hard on you to go home.
Am I covered if I feel my flight is dangerous and want to cancel?
Airlines usually offer no refunds if you cancel a flight, but lower bookings have prompted BA, Virgin and Continental to sell many flights with the offer of rerouting or deferral at no extra cost. You do have to book by a certain date to benefit from this - at the moment, BA bookings must be made by Tuesday, although the deadline may be extended.
Are there any changes to flights?
Following FO advice, BA has suspended its flights to Israel and Kuwait because of fears for the safety of its staff, and is offering full refunds. Flights to Middle East cities such as Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah are now being routed via Larnaca, Cyprus. This has added an extra hour to flight times.
Most eastward flights seem to pass over the Gulf region. Will that change and if so, will flight times increase?
Airlines reroute over dangerous zones in wartime, usually adding a minimal amount of time to flights.
What about changing flights in countries that the FO warns against travel to?
The FO has specified that the advice against non-essential travel excludes 'airline passengers in transit, provided they do not break their journey'.
Will check-in times be much longer with increased airport security?
If the government asks Heathrow and other UK airports to implement increased security measures - including additional passenger and luggage searches - longer check-in times are likely. After 11 September, passengers were sometimes asked to check in three hours in advance, although this was later scaled back because of congestion at the airports. As always, check with your airline when you need to get to the airport. US airports may see dramatic increases in security. Jokes, slip-ups, missing documents and the like will be shown far less tolerance during wartime.
I know bookings are down, so are travel companies likely to go bust, and if so what if I've booked with them?
After the last Gulf War, 120 UK travel companies went bust, most notably the giant International Leisure Group, owner of Intasun. The 100,000 people abroad on ILG holidays at the time were all repatriated, and the several hundreds of thousands who had yet to take their holidays got their money back as ILG was a fully bonded company.
How can I make sure I am protected if my travel company goes bust?
You need to book through a company that is bonded to get a full refund if the company folds. The main bonds are with: ATOL (020 7453 6430), Abta (020 7307 1907), Aito (020 8744 9280), PSA (020 7436 2449) or FTO.
What loopholes should I watch out for?
The Civil Aviation Authority is concerned about people who put together their own holidays by buying flights, accommodation and car hire separately, as there is often no consumer protection in these circumstances. Using a credit card is a simple way to cover yourself for bookings of over £100. A CAA leaflet explaining the complexities is available from the ATOL contact details above.
What happens if my airline goes bust?
United Airlines said for the first time last Tuesday that liquidation was a 'distinct possibility' and American Airlines is preparing for the possibility of bankruptcy. You are not covered if you have booked a ticket directly with a scheduled airline that goes to the wall - which means no refunds if you are at home, and no flight home if you are out at your destination. Charter flight-only seats are covered. If you book a scheduled flight, use your credit card, book through a company with Atol cover, or buy insurance that covers this eventuality.
So does insurance cover me if my holiday is affected by the war?
It is always advisable to take insurance out, but most travel insurance policies will not cover claims stemming from acts of terrorism.
