Will Package Holiday be cancelled if FCO advice does not change.

cwaite

I booked a package holiday to the Maldives last year and am due to depart on 13th September 2020, at present the FCO are advising against travel to the Maldives, this means that any travel insurance we have whilst we are on Holiday is not valid, therefore if the FCO advice does not change between now and 13th September, will I be entitled to a refund on my Holiday.

SpreadableToast

Do you actually have travel insurance?  If so when was it taken out?

If your travel insurance does not cover you that doesn't mean you're due a refund.  If the flights are still operating and the hotel is still open then generally speaking (unless the terms and conditions of the holiday allow it) you won't be entitled to a refund.

silvercar

You may have to wait a couple more weeks, if the advice doesn't change then the flight may well be cancelled. That should trigger a refund.

DCFC79

You can still go but check if you need to quarantine coming back.

cwaite

DCFC79 said:

You can still go but check if you need to quarantine coming back.

The main problem is that if I go then we won’t have travel insurance cover, not sure if I really want to risk that.

cwaite

silvercar said:

You may have to wait a couple more weeks, if the advice doesn't change then the flight may well be cancelled. That should trigger a refund

The flight we have been allocated is from Heathrow to Bahrain then change flight at Bahrain to Male. From what I can see the flights are still going. Obviously don’t want to loose all that money that I have paid but equally don’t want to risk going without insurance cover.

cwaite

I have been in touch with the company and they are saying now that there advise is that even though the FCO's advice is still saying we should avoid all but essential travel to the Maldives, and even though any travel insurance we get is null and void, or will not cover us for Covid 19 we should still go on what was due to be a trip of a lifetime or lose the money that we have paid.

Can a travel company legally do this against FCO advice?

eskbanker

cwaite said:

I have been in touch with the company and they are saying now that there advise is that even though the FCO's advice is still saying we should avoid all but essential travel to the Maldives, and even though any travel insurance we get is null and void, or will not cover us for Covid 19 we should still go on what was due to be a trip of a lifetime or lose the money that we have paid.

Can a travel company legally do this against FCO advice?

They can do it legally (unless there are "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect (a) the performance of the package, or (b) the carriage of passengers to the destination") but if they're an ABTA member then they'd be going against ABTA's recently-issued guidance at https://www.abta.com/news/abta-board-confirms-refund-obligation if they fail to offer a refund:

ABTA Board confirms refund obligation

Following recent representations made to ABTA concerning package holiday customers’ refund entitlement in the event of Foreign Office advice against all but essential travel to a destination, the ABTA Board has met and confirmed that customers should be offered a full refund in such circumstances. In accordance with the Articles of the Association, the Board agreed unanimously that ABTA Members should offer refunds to their package holiday customers where the Foreign Office advises against travel at the time the customer is due to travel.

mattyprice4004

It's advice only, so ultimately if they choose to still operate the holiday there's not much you can do. 
If they're a member of ABTA then as per eskbanker's excellent post they should refund you - but note the word 'should' which doesn't always mean 'will'. 

cwaite

eskbanker said:

cwaite said:

I have been in touch with the company and they are saying now that there advise is that even though the FCO's advice is still saying we should avoid all but essential travel to the Maldives, and even though any travel insurance we get is null and void, or will not cover us for Covid 19 we should still go on what was due to be a trip of a lifetime or lose the money that we have paid.

Can a travel company legally do this against FCO advice?

They can do it legally (unless there are "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect (a) the performance of the package, or (b) the carriage of passengers to the destination") but if they're an ABTA member then they'd be going against ABTA's recently-issued guidance at https://www.abta.com/news/abta-board-confirms-refund-obligation if they fail to offer a refund:

ABTA Board confirms refund obligation

Following recent representations made to ABTA concerning package holiday customers’ refund entitlement in the event of Foreign Office advice against all but essential travel to a destination, the ABTA Board has met and confirmed that customers should be offered a full refund in such circumstances. In accordance with the Articles of the Association, the Board agreed unanimously that ABTA Members should offer refunds to their package holiday customers where the Foreign Office advises against travel at the time the customer is due to travel.

Thank you for your advice would a pandemic not be classed as extraordinary circumstances, and the fact that we cannot get travel insurance and have to isolate for 14 days after not be classed as affecting the performance of the package?

Westin

cwaite said:

eskbanker said:

cwaite said:

I have been in touch with the company and they are saying now that there advise is that even though the FCO's advice is still saying we should avoid all but essential travel to the Maldives, and even though any travel insurance we get is null and void, or will not cover us for Covid 19 we should still go on what was due to be a trip of a lifetime or lose the money that we have paid.

Can a travel company legally do this against FCO advice?

They can do it legally (unless there are "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect (a) the performance of the package, or (b) the carriage of passengers to the destination") but if they're an ABTA member then they'd be going against ABTA's recently-issued guidance at https://www.abta.com/news/abta-board-confirms-refund-obligation if they fail to offer a refund:

ABTA Board confirms refund obligation

Following recent representations made to ABTA concerning package holiday customers’ refund entitlement in the event of Foreign Office advice against all but essential travel to a destination, the ABTA Board has met and confirmed that customers should be offered a full refund in such circumstances. In accordance with the Articles of the Association, the Board agreed unanimously that ABTA Members should offer refunds to their package holiday customers where the Foreign Office advises against travel at the time the customer is due to travel.

Thank you for your advice would a pandemic not be classed as extraordinary circumstances, and the fact that we cannot get travel insurance and have to isolate for 14 days after not be classed as affecting the performance of the package?

Some insurers are now offering travel insurance to cover CV19 related illness whilst abroad.  Possibly not the cheaper ones but I believe options available.

The fact that you may have to isolate upon your return to the UK is not an issue or concern for the tour operator.  That said, a few of the major real tour operators are allowing flexibility and cancellations on destinations where quarantine is required upon returning to the UK.

Are you going soon?