Tui is cancelling holiday programmes to a raft of countries as strict travel restrictions are imposed in an effort to combat the spread of coronavirus.
The UK’s largest operator is offering refunds but warned that it is receiving a high volume of calls and urged for “patience as we work through them”.
Holiday have been cancelled to the US, Spain, Jamaica, Cyprus, Madeira, Malta, Tunisia, Italy, Goa while restrictions apply to other destinations.
More: Latest coronavirus news and updates
Tui said in a message on its website: “Our holiday programme is experiencing some disruption due to local authority restrictions and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice.
“We are proactively contacting all customers whose holidays are affected to discuss their options, including an amendment or full refund.
“For customers due to travel, please be aware that local authorities in a number of destinations we operate to have introduced additional screening measures and restrictions at airports and cruise ports.
“You may be restricted from entering a destination based on countries you have recently travelled to. Please ensure you always check the latest updates at GOV.UK before you travel, as restrictions are regularly changing.
“We understand that you have questions about your upcoming holiday but as I’m sure you can appreciate our customer service lines are experiencing high volumes of calls so we are having to prioritise customers travelling before 1st April 2020.”
This is the latest coronavirus situation posted on Tui’s website as of Saturday afternoon:
Holidays to US:
We are aware that the United States authorities have taken the decision not to permit entry to anyone travelling from the UK to the USA from 16 March 2020.
Customers due to travel to the USA between 16th and 18th March will have their holiday automatically cancelled and refunded. There is no need to call us.
Customers due to travel between 19th and 23rd March we will call you to rearrange your holiday or offer a full-refund.
Customers due to travel after 24th March please bear with us as we prioritise customers due to travel before 24th March. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding.
Holidays to Spain, Canary Islands, Balearics Islands:
Following local measures put in place by the Spanish authorities, including closing some hotel facilities and the local bars, restaurants and beaches we have made the difficult decision to cancel holidays due to travel between 14th and 29th March.
Customers due to travel to the Spain, Canary Islands and Balearics Islands between 15th and 17th March will have their holiday automatically cancelled and refunded. There is no need to call us.
Customers due to travel to Spain, Canary Islands and Balearics Islands between 18th and 28th March we will call you to rearrange your holiday or offer a full-refund.
Customers due to travel after 29th March, please bear with us as we prioritise customers due to travel in the next two weeks. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding.
Holidays to Jamaica:
We are aware that the Jamaican authorities have taken the decision not to permit entry to anyone travelling from the UK to Jamaica from 14 March 2020 for 14 days.
Customers due to travel to Jamaica between 14th and 16th March will have their holiday automatically cancelled and refunded. There is no need to call us.
Customers due to travel between 17th and 28th March we will call you to rearrange your holiday or offer a full-refund.
Holidays to Vietnam:
Following changes in Vietnamese government advice we are contacting customers who are due to travel to Vietnam from 17th March onwards as they will now need to apply for a visa from the Vietnamese Embassy.
Holidays to Cyprus:
Due to restrictions introduced by the local authorities in Cyprus, we’re sorry to advise that all holidays to Cyprus departing up to and including 28 March have unfortunately had to be cancelled. We are proactively contacting affected customers departing between 16 and 28 March to find a suitable alternative holiday.
Holidays to Madeira:
Due to restrictions introduced by the local authorities in Madeira, we’re sorry to advise that all holidays to Malta departing up to and including 28 March have unfortunately had to be cancelled. We are proactively contacting affected customers departing between 14 and 28 March to find a suitable alternative holiday.
Holidays to Malta:
Due to restrictions introduced by the local authorities in Malta, we’re sorry to advise that all holidays to Malta departing up to and including 22 March have unfortunately had to be cancelled. We are proactively contacting affected customers departing between 16 and 22 March to find a suitable alternative holiday.
Holidays to Croatia:
All holidays to Croatia after 26 March are currently operating as planned, therefore normal terms and conditions for amendments and cancellations apply. Should the restriction remain in place we will proactively contact affected customers.
Holidays to Tunisia:
Due to restrictions introduced by the local authorities in Tunisia, we’re sorry to advise that all holidays to Tunisia departing up to and including 22 March have unfortunately had to be cancelled. We are proactively contacting affected customers departing between 16 and 22 March to find a suitable alternative holiday.
Holidays to Italy:
We’re aware that the FCO has now changed its travel advice for Italy advised against all but essential travel to Italy and the Italian government has implemented new internal measures to minimise the spread of Coronavirus which will run up to and including 3rd April.
If you are due to travel between now and 3rd April to Italy a member of our customer services team will contact you directly to discuss your options including an amendment or full refund.
Flights to Goa:
We are proactively contacting customers due to travel to India on a Tui Airways flight before the end of April to discuss their options as these flights have been cancelled, including an amendment or a full refund.
Holidays to Sri Lanka:
The local authorities in Sri Lanka have implemented restrictions meaning that passengers will no longer be able to apply for a visa on arrival into the country. Therefore, all customers due to travel on a Tui holiday, Tui tour or multi-centre holiday to Sri Lanka must secure their visa prior to travel.
Holidays to Thailand:
The local authorities in Thailand have implemented restrictions meaning all customers due to travel on a Tui holiday to Thailand, whether with Tui Airways or a third party airline, will be required to download an AOT Airports app onto their mobile phones and complete the required information such as full name, passport ID, mobile phone number and address. This information will be stored for 14 days and used if state agencies are required to make contact with individuals either during their holiday or afterwards.