Holidaymakers denied refunds for Canary Islands trips due to loophole
British travellers who are booked on a package holiday to the Canary Islands are unlikely to be offered full refunds, despite the archipelago being added to the UK’s quarantine list.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office (FCDO) has not yet included the islands in its advisory against non-essential travel and, as such, tour operators are not required to cancel trips.
An ABTA spokesperson said: “The purpose of Foreign Office advice is to provide an assessment of risk to travellers if they visit that destination.
“As the Government isn’t advising against all but essential travel, package holiday providers are under no obligation to cancel the holiday.
“Anyone concerned about self-isolating on their return should speak to their travel provider to discuss their options, some companies do have flexible policies around Covid-19.”
Tui UK holidays to the Canary Islands continue to operate as planned, for example, with a spokesperson for the operator pointing out that from December 15 the ‘test to release’ programme should be available.
This will allow travellers returning from non-travel corridor destinations to cut their self-isolation time to five days if they test negative for the virus (the Government has also announced that travel quarantine without a test will be reduced to 10 days). However, tests are at the cost of the traveller and are around £120 per person.
Arrivals to the Canary Islands must also present evidence of antigen or PCR test results, further adding to the Covid-related fees faced by holidaymakers.
A Tui UK spokesperson added: “We would like to assure customers that we will contact them directly if their holiday is affected. Any customers due to travel from [December 11] up to and including [December 17] have the option to amend for free to any holiday that’s currently on sale.”
Hayley Smith and her boyfriend Marcus are among the holidaymakers due to travel with Tui in the coming weeks. They are booked to travel to Fuerteventura on December 19, returning before the new year.
“The reason we picked the Canary Islands is because we felt it was a very safe bet, as it had a travel corridor for quite some time, and there didn’t appear to be any news around increased infection rates,” said Hayley.
She said they are still awaiting guidance from Tui, but that, despite not being happy about quarantine, they would rather go ahead with the trip than rebook for another destination or date.
“We have had our hearts set on going away for Christmas and are determined to make it happen,” Hayley added.
EasyJet holidays has also confirmed that trips to the islands will go ahead, although it is providing its customers with the option to cancel to receive credit with the company.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Thomas Cook, the relaunched online-only operator, told The Mirror: "Most of our customers booked to go to the Canaries are keen to keep their holiday.
“We've partnered with Randox [a Covid test provider] to offer all of our customers discounted tests for when they return and as soon as the government confirms the process for booking those tests, our customers will be able to end their self-isolation after five days.”
Airlines are also likely to continue to fly to the Canary Islands. EasyJet passengers due to travel there can transfer their flights to any destination or change their travel dates without a change fee.
Consumer group Which? has called for Foreign Office advice to be matched to the travel corridor list.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: "It is hugely unfair for the government to remove the Canary Islands from its travel corridors list due to high rates of coronavirus, without also updating the FCDO's advice to reflect this.
“Package holiday customers who wish to cancel because they cannot quarantine on arrival back to the UK will struggle to get a refund, as operators are less likely to cancel without a change to FCDO advice.
"The government must ensure that it coordinates its approach to changing travel advice, while travel operators must offer flexible rebooking options to those who cannot travel, to prevent causing further chaos for holidaymakers and leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket as a result."
A spokesperson for the FCDO said of its travel advisories: "We look at the latest epidemiological information and other relevant factors to ensure it reflects the latest situation in a particular country so [Britons] can travel safely."
They added that decisions about Foreign Office travel advice "draw on Public Health England's country assessments to judge the risks to British people of exposure to Covid-19 in each country/territory," and that its advice remains under constant review.
