Icelandair stopover to New York - what am I liable to claim on?

unification1

Hi MSE Forumites,

Long time lurker, first time writer.

We are (were?) due to honeymoon in Iceland and New York over Easter making use of Icelandair's stopover policy. We were due to fly on 04/04, staying in Reykjavik until 09/04 and then flying onwards to New York until returning on the evening of 14/04 back to Reykjavik and then homeward bound on the morning of 15/04. This leg is just a layover with no hotel stay planned. Our hotel via Booking.com for Reykjavik and Airbnb for New York have been booked separably to the flights.

With the US now barring entry to those who have been in a Schengen area country which coincides with the dates we're in Iceland, that effectively stops the NYC half of our trip. I can easily cancel the Airbnb for free in NYC but what is the situation now with flights? Could Icelandair conceivably say 'well, we can get you to Reykjavik and honour your flight back to the UK on the 15/04' and therefore we'd have to stay in Iceland for an extra five nights? Or is the whole flight itinerary compromised? I'd hope that if Icelandair continue flying the UK-Reykjavik route that they would be able to at least get us back to the UK on the 09/04.

I daresay it may be too early to answer as Icelandair have batted off questions from anyone asking about future flights in order to deal with the immediate problem which is somewhat fair enough. However, I'm in a quandary about what the next steps may be. In all honesty, I'm kind of hoping that all flights are grounded or Iceland stops visitors entering anyway to make the decision easier since I don't really fancy going any more. Things are closing and being suspended so I can't see it being a fun trip even if it did get underway. Sadly 'I don't feel like it' when the FCO says it's OK to travel won't cut it with our insurer (Coverwise in this instance).

Any advice or thoughts of the collective would be welcome and thanks in advance!

bradders1983

If nobody from the airline knows, then nobody on here will know either.

Blunt, but accurate.

unification1

Fair enough. Just wondered whether anyone else was in a similar situation with part of a trip they couldn't go on.
I'll sit tight and feedback later about what occurs lest it be useful to anyone in the future.

Westin

I suspect after Trump’s surprise announcement that airlines and travel businesses worldwide are having to again change travel disruption policies and then cascade information to staff and customers alike.  The situation is changing constantly and I expect will continue to do so.  I would wait 24h-48h to allow Icelandair to get a handle on the situation and policy in place.  

Whether it impacts your flights or not, my suspicion would be that Icelandair will have to very ruthlessly cut back their flying.  There is just not enough traffic for just Reykjavik, they rely on connecting traffic.   If their flight pruning includes one or more of your flights you may be able to take a refund option.

Please come back to update your situation as it may help others in a similar predicament.

unification1

Thanks, @Westin. That's a fair summary. Let's see how it pans out.
I'll post on here once I know more.