For all the latest updates to the NEW Ash Cloud effecting travel in May 2011 - click here
The following information relates to travel in 2010
As of Monday 20th April 2010:
UK airports are set to reopen at 22:00 today. This will allow the back log of passengers to be cleared and services to resume. It will take anything up to 2 weeks for normal service to resume fully as planes need to be relocated and stranded customers returned home. Priority will be given to customer already booked on flights and stranded customers will be filtered into available seats and / or additional flights will be added.
It is important to still check with your airline before travelling to the airport.
As of Monday 20th April 2010:
As you are all aware, the cloud of volcanic ash continues to cover much of the UK with the volcanic eruption continuing. I thought it was worth while clarifying the situation regarding bookings and travel.
For those holiday makers and travelers currently overseas:
For those stranded overseas, it is the responsibility of the Tour Operator or the Airline to provide you with meals, refreshments and accommodation.
Who should you talk to?
If you booked a 'package holiday' then you should have a representative (rep) in resort who can assist and ensure arrangements are made. If a rep is not available you should have been given a telephone number for the reps office and / or a 'ground agent'.
If you booked a holiday made up of flights, accommodation, transfers etc, each booked as individual items, then this is what's called a 'Dynamic Package'. It therefore is the responsibility of the Airline to provide you with accommodation / meals etc if your flight is cancelled. Officially the ABTA regulations do state accommodation is only required after 24 hours of delay.
If you booked a Dynamic Package:
Make contact with the airline by either visiting their website for advice, contact their customer services telephone number or visit them at the airport. They will be able to tell you their procedures for dealing with extending your accommodation requirements.
It is important that you keep in contact with them to find out when your flights will be rescheduled to return to the UK. Do NOT assume they can contact you. Visit their website for up to date details.
If you have booked accommodation off your own back, make sure you keep receipts as you 'may' be able to reclaim this cost from the Airlines. (There is no guarantee but it may be possible). You can also talk to our customer service team by calling +44(0) 1258 456300 until 10pm (GMT) each day.
If you are due to travel or go on holiday:
Currently the tour operators / airlines are working up to 24 hours ahead i.e. they are dealing with flights up to / including 1 day ahead of todays date. If you are due to travel outside of this time frame then you should 'assume' for the moment that this will still take place.
However this is a very fluid situation and everything is being reviewed constantly. You should check the Tour Operator or Airlines website for latest information about flights. Or contact us on +44(0) 1258 456300.
If your holiday or flight is cancelled:
If your holiday or flight is cancelled you will have the opportunity to change your flight/holiday to an alternative date. In most cases there will be no additional fee for doing this and procedures have been put in place to do this as quickly as possible. However you should check with us about the particular terms / conditions which apply to rebooking. Normally this MUST be done within 3 days of the original holiday date. However please talk to us as soon as you are aware your flight has been canceled for up to date information relating to your particular flight.
If your flight is canceled then you will also have the opportunity to have a full refund. Again, please discuss with us about how this takes place.