Travelling to Sri Lanka - can I cancel my flights amidst the ecomonic crisis?

marekkops

Hi MSE Forum,

My partner and I were due to fly to Sri Lanka Aug 5th for our honeymoon, however with the deepening economic crisis and resulting protests and curfews, the government is now advising against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka.

We have taken the decision to cancel the trip and are now looking to get a refund on our flights. The travel insurance company has said they are unable to help unless the airline cancels the flight, and they have also warned that the airline may not do this (based on recent experiences) or they may hold out to the last minute before doing this – something we are not willing to wait for as our honeymoon plans need finalising asap, and particularly as the situation in Sri Lanka is unfortunately not expected to get better any time soon.

I have also reached out to the credit card company and have submitted a claim. But once again I’m told this may take a bit of time to resolve and even then, it’s not guaranteed to be successful.

This brings me onto my conversations with the travel agent (TravelUp.com) and the airline (Qatar Airways). TravelUp responded saying that as per the airline rules our tickets are 100% non-refundable. I therefore contacted the airline directly clearly outlining the issue, and they have claimed since the tickets were purchased through an agent, I need to deal with them for a refund and provide no further information. I am continuing to chase but it seems I may be going round in circles.

Not quite sure if I have a leg to stand on with regards to claiming a refund, what my next steps should be, and who should be held responsible for the refund - any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Many thanks,

Marek

Upsidedownandaround

If you booked flight only (i.e not a package) and it was non-refundable then you are correct you don't have a leg to stand on regarding any rights to a refund if the flight goes ahead other than potentially a small amount of tax and can only really hope the flight ends up being cancelled.

You would probably be better waiting to see if the situation changes in the coming months rather than cancel just now.

You may wish to double check your insurance position again closer to the time.

lisyloo

Your insurance company will probably be right but have you checked your policy wording as to whether it covers you when there is advice against travel (I’m assuming you mean FCDO advice against all essential travel).
Personally I’d be checking the wording just in case the call operator has made a mistake.

Upsidedownandaround

It may also be the way you have worded it to your insurer.

If you have said to them “we have decided to cancel the trip” more than 2.5 months before hand because you want clarity and don’t think the situation will get any better then that’s a different thing than asking whether you are covered if the travel advice is still in place at the time of your flights. 

Even if you were covered under your policy the decision to cancel 10 weeks before hand and to seek a refund at that point will probably be deemed by your insurer as a change of mind.

onashoestring

You won’t be entitled to a refund if you cancel the flight . You will have to wait until nearer the time to see if your airline cancels in which case you will receive a refund . 

You would only have a valid claim with your credit card provider if the airline or travel agent had not provided what you paid for or were entitled to . So not relevant to your situation . 

The are only 5 insurance companies that provide cover if you cancel your holiday because FCDO advise against travel : Barclays Bank, Churchill, Direct Line, HSBC and Nationwide . 

If your policy is with one of the above you will  still have to wait until the date of travel before you would be able to claim as the FCDO travel advice may have changed by then. 

marekkops

Thanks all! This is all amazing advice, certainly helps me understand the situation better and plan our next steps. Seems like we will have to hold out and hope the situation improves, but will check the policy wording one last time to see if there is any further detail there.

Bmceestaban

I think a very important point has been missed here. Qatar have a flexibility policy in place for all flights up to end of September 2022. Where you can voluntarily change or cancel for no penalty and full refund. According to Qatar the travel agent should be honouring this. Website won't allow me to post a link, but take a look on Qatar website.
I'm in the process of trying to cancel Qatar flights to Sri Lanka for next month, but the travel agent is dragging it's heels 

marekkops

Thanks Bmceestaban. I was aware of this, but when I bring this up with Qatar they keep referring me to the travel agent and saying I need to deal with them, maybe I need to challenge the airline directly a little more on this.

onashoestring

Bmceestaban said:

I think a very important point has been missed here. Qatar have a flexibility policy in place for all flights up to end of September 2022. Where you can voluntarily change or cancel for no penalty and full refund. According to Qatar the travel agent should be honouring this. Website won't allow me to post a link, but take a look on Qatar website.
I'm in the process of trying to cancel Qatar flights to Sri Lanka for next month, but the travel agent is dragging it's heels 

In this case @marekkops you need to be quoting Qatar’s flexibility policy (rather than the FCDO advice ) as the reason that you wish to cancel and be refunded . Travel Up may still charge an admin fee for this transaction.

It always muddies the water when a third party is involved in flight bookings . Qatar may not be able to refund you directly if it was Travel Up that paid them . If that is the case , the refund would be back to Travel Up (who may charge an admin fee to give it back to you as per their T&Cs )  

You need check the T&Cs of your booking with Travel Up to see who your contract is with and the process for refunds. When you are clear on this you can contact the relevant party quoting the relevant section of T&Cs of your booking and Qatar’s flexibility policy.

marekkops

Thanks @Bmceestaban's advice I've found the T&Cs on Qatar's website and they are pretty clear that I should be able to claim a refund. I've forwarded this onto TravelUp and hopefully they cannot dispute this, but still expect they will drag this out for as long as possible!  

Bmceestaban

No problem. Yes you will still have to deal with the travel agent. To me it seems pretty clear that they are required to offer the refund but as onashoestring says it can get very confusing when third parties involved. I'm continuing to hassle traveljunction in my case. But am considering attempting the credit card charge back route as a last resort if unsuccessful.