Major airlines offer refunds and free flight changes

Posted on 11 March 2020

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak has caused a major disruption to the travel industry.  Airlines have cancelled a number of flight routes to affected areas and passengers have also opted to change or cancel their travel plans.

As a result, a number of major airlines are offering refunds or free rescheduling of flights.

Here’s the list of what they are offering.

British Airways

The UK airline has removed the change bookings fee on all new bookings made from Tuesday 3 March to Monday 31 March 2020. New flights can be booked up to 12 months from your original date of departure.
You can also choose a voucher to the value of your booked flight which can be used to book another flight within 12 months from your original date of departure.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin is allowing customers to rebook flights made before 4 March 2020 for travel during March without having to pay change fees. All rebooked flights need to be taken by 20 September 2020.

Bookings to Italy up to the end of March can be changed for free. New flights must be rebooked for a date on or before 31 May 2020. Flights to Hong Kong between now and 30 April can be refunded.

Emirates

Emirates has extended its fee-waiver programme to cover all flights booked on or before 31 March 2020 to any countries.

Travellers are able to change flights to any time within an 11-month window from the original date of departure.

Qatar Airlines

Passengers that have booked for travel up to 30 June 2020 will be able to change their travel plans without incurring costs. Booking dates can be changed or tickets exchanged for a travel voucher valid for one year. Both changes apply up to three days prior to the original date of departure.

Air France

All flights booked before 31 March can be rebooked for free. New flights must be rebooked for flights on or before 31 May 2020.

Air France has suspended flights to Italy between 14 March and 3 April 2020. Flights to China, Hong Kong and Taipei have been suspended until 29 March and tickets to these destinations can be rebooked or refunded.

Lufthansa and Swiss Air

All flight bookings before 5 March for travel up to 30 April can be changed for free. The new, rebooked flights must be for travel on or before 31 December 2020.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines will waive its fee for a one-time change on any international flights bought between 6 March and 24 March.

Changes to international flights purchased before 5 March, for travel until the end of 2020, need to be rebooked by 16 March in order to qualify for the one-time change fee waiver.

KLM

KLM states on it’s website that passengers can change flight bookings at no extra cost, no matter the destination. ‘If you change to a higher fare type, you will need to pay the fare difference.’ Tickets starting with 074, issued on or before Tuesday 31 March 2020, and valid for travel between Wednesday 4 March 2020 and Sunday 31 May 2020, can be rebooked, according to mycitybynight.co.za.

United Airlines

Direct flights between Cape Town and New York can be changed for free for tickets issued from 3 March 2020 to 31 March 2020. Passengers can change flights to a new flight valid for up to 12 months from the date of issue for the original. Alternatively, flights can be cancelled and you can get a credit valid for up to 12 months.

Singapore Airlines

All cancellation and change fees for tickets issued on or before 4 March 2020 for travel to and from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan and northern Italy between 24 January 2020 to 30 April 2020 will be waived.  All cancellation and change fees will also be waived for tickets to and from India issued on or before 11 March 2020.

New flights must be rebooked for travel on or before 31 August 2020.

 

Picture: Emirates






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