Coronavirus: Tour operator Tui cancels holidays until mid-May
The UK’s biggest package holiday firm Tui has extended the cancellation of its holidays for UK customers until mid-May among uncertainty as to when coronavirus travel restrictions will cease to apply.
In a statement, the firm said that beach holidays for UK and Irish customers travelling up to and including 14 May would no longer operate, while cruise holidays would be cancelled until 31 May.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation and will start taking people on holiday again as soon as we are able to do so. At this point in time, nobody can accurately predict when that will be,” a Tui spokesman said.
Customers will be able to edit their booking to any other holiday listed on Tui’s website, but it is unclear whether refunds will be available.
Holiday customers in Britain should be refunded for cancelled trips within 14 days, but there have been reports of delays due to the sheer volume of claims being made.
Sign up to City A.M.’s Midday Update newsletter, delivered to your inbox every lunchtime
Travel industry body ABTA has called for the government to allow holiday companies to issue refund credit notes instead of cash refunds due to the high number of claims amid fears some firms could go out of business if they have to pay out.
Last week the UK changed its travel guidance, advising against all non-essential global travel indefinitely. Previously Britons had been told to avoid global travel for 30 days from 17 March.
The travel and holiday industry has been decimated by the coronavirus outbreak, with global travel bans and border closures.
Yesterday the UK’s second-biggest holiday company Jet2 said it had cancelled all flights and holidays until mid-June in response to fears that measures will not be eased for a considerable period of time.
Jet2, which is owned by Dart Group, said in a statement that its holidays and flights would not now restart until 17 June, and it would contact customers to discuss their options.