Is it safe to book a holiday to Europe this summer?

In the last few weeks, the Government has revealed it is looking to find a way for Britons to be able to travel to a select number of other European countries via travel bridges.

The countries selected will ensure that visitors would not need to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in the UK – reportedly Portugal, France and Spain are in talks to make this happen in the near future.

Many are keen to travel again with seven in 10 Britons saying they are keen to take a holiday sooner rather than later, or as soon as officially confirmed as safe to do so, according to research by insurer Allianz.

However, although airlines are now adding more and more flights to schedules, Britain is still in lockdown and the Foreign Commenwealth Office advises people to only travel if absolutely necessary, drawing criticism that airlines should not be encouraging travel before it is safe.

Currently, the CAA states that if travel is cancelled, travellers should receive a refund, credit note or voucher in most circumstances. 

However, carriers have already faced backlash after being slow to give cash refunds to customers who requested them after flights were cancelled.

Holidaygoers are now wondering what protection they will be given if they now book a European holiday only for it to be cancelled before they are due to leave if there is a spike in coronavirus cases again.

To ensure customers feel safe and comfortable enough to travel with them, airlines are making changes to their booking rules. 

This is Money spoke to major airlines and travel industry experts to find out whether it is safe for holidaymakers to book a European trip now and what protection is in place to ensure that they won’t be out of pocket.

EasyJet is one of the first airlines to vow to help its customers with their ‘Europe with Confidence Pledge’ – promising it will be easy for travellers to change flights if they need to. 

Under the new pledge, the airline says that customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified at least 14 days in advance and informed of their options.

This includes transferring to an alternative flight free of charge, receiving a voucher or applying for a refund via a form on its website.

For those who want to change their flights within the 14 days they are due to travel, the fee for changing dates has been reduced to the standard off-peak charge as opposed to the higher, on peak charge.

Customers on future flights that are scheduled to operate as planned but who are looking to cancel due to the ongoing situation are still bound by EasyJet’s cancellation and refund terms and conditions.

EasyJet added it has brought forward its schedule so that customers have more choice to move their flights further out and from now on, flights will also be on sale up until the end of May 2021.

Flights for summer 2021 will continue to be put on sale throughout the coming months to provide passengers with more opportunity to change their flights.

British Airways have introduced a similar policy to EasyJet’s called ‘Book with Confidence’. It promises that if a customer’s flight has been cancelled they can contact BA to get a refund, re-book or get a voucher for future travel.

The updated policy also means that anyone with a booking due to travel up until July 31 or any bookings made from March 3 for travel before the end of the year, are eligible for a range of flexible rebooking options, including taking a voucher.

All vouchers, regardless of when they were claimed, can now be used on new bookings up until April 2022. This voucher option is available on flights that are still operating or flights that are cancelled.

If BA cancels a customer’s flight and they want a refund they can call the airline to process the money.

This is Money has also contacted Ryanair for comment but has not yet had a response. 

What should holidaymakers do before booking?  

As it stands, from 8 June, anyone arriving into the UK, whether a national or not, will have to quarantine for 14 days, creating problems for those looking to head abroad – although, how strictly this is being implemented is another question. 

Another current danger for holidaymakers is if they decide to cancel a flight themselves as they will then lose their money.

However, if they are prevented from travelling due to the FCO advice still being in place and they’ve booked a package holiday, the Package Travel Regulations ensure they will be legally entitled a full refund within 14 days of the holiday being cancelled. 

They will also likely to be offered incentives to rebook again at a later date.

For those who do decide to book, they are encouraged to get travel insurance to cover them for any incidents that could occur including flight or accommodation cancellation.

Whilst this is proving tricky at the moment as many insurers have removed travel policies from their sites, there are still some available and tourists are advised to use price comparison sites to find the policy that is right for them.

Customers should also read through their policy carefully to see what exclusions do and don’t apply.

Before booking a trip, it is advisable to check any consular and repatriation agreements between your home country and the country you want to visit.

In some cases, countries might not have official measures in place to ensure you can return quickly from your place of travel if there is an emergency.  

If you decide to book, customers are urged to use their credit card so if anything goes wrong, they can claim money back via Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. 

Read more here about how you can protect yourself when booking a holiday.  

What do the experts say? 

Travel experts are also urging customers to use caution when booking any holidays as there is still no guarantee they can go ahead as planned – especially if there is a second coronavirus outbreak. 

Jon Thorne, director of user satisfaction at Skyscanner, said: ‘It is important to stress that the FCO currently advises British people against all non-essential travel.

‘Although we are hearing news of other nations relaxing their travel and tourism restrictions, we must stay aware that as long as this advice is in place, we cannot be sure when it will be possible to travel abroad, and where will be the first place to open to UK tourists.

‘This status will also affect travel insurance and travel providers’ liability. Many providers have introduced flexible booking policies for future travel.’

Emma Coulthurst, of TravelSupermarket, added: ‘As it stands, if you book a European flight for July, August or September, there is no guarantee as to whether you can travel or not. 

‘There is a glimmer of hope that some air corridors may be put in place with some countries with low levels of infection from July. 

‘Portugal has said that UK holidaymakers will not face quarantine if they go there, for example, and the Foreign Minister says it is speaking with the UK government about putting a quarantine free arrangement in place.

‘When it comes to other countries, they are watching the UK’s R rate before deciding whether to let us visit without any quarantine restrictions.’ 

On the back of news announcements around potential air corridors in July or August, there have been 40 per cent more price comparison searches for package holidays via TravelSupermarket for July, August and September 2020 holidays in the last fortnight.

Greece and Spain and Portugal are three of the most popular destinations to search for holidays to, which aligns with announcements by those three countries of their desire to welcome back tourists from July.

However, travellers will have to wait and see whether the FCO will let Britons travel, and whether air corridors will be in place with countries such as Portugal and Greece and Spain so that they can travel quarantine-free. 

A holiday is not possible if holidaymakers have to isolate on arrival.