# Holidays booked to countries now affected with coronavirus.



## joer

Just thought I would start this thread.
I among many ,i am sure, have holidays booked to countries now affected with the coronavirus , like in my case Italy. I know there will be no problem with accomadation that has free cancellation but what about the flights. If this virus spreads within these countries and people are told not to travel will travel insurance cover the cost of the flights and accomadation which has no free cancellation ?


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## noproblem

Off myself again next Thursday to the Canaries and naturally enough one imagines that airports are one of the worst places to be travelling to and from. I'd imagine an awful lot would have to go wrong before the authorities would put a stop to travelling. Thing is, money talks and business is business. Another thing to remember is when you get to your destination, will there be a way to return? Could turn out to be a long stay and not know it, so plan for it.


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## odyssey06

DFA just issued a "do not travel" for the affected regions in Italy i.e. so the areas within these regions Piemonte, Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Lazio.





						Italy - Department of Foreign Affairs
					

If you’re travelling to Italy, our up-to-date travel advice gives you practical tips on emergency contacts, security, climate and other essential information.



					www.dfa.ie


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## Daddy Ireland

Only a matter of time I would say before EU impose a travel ban within EU Schengen area.  Already making news this morning


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## Feemar5

According to a travel correspondent on the radio today if the Department of Foreign Affairs advises against travel to a particular country then your travel insurance will kick in.     If you decide yourself not to travel without advice from the department then you are doing that at your risk and your insurance will not pay up.


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## Brendan Burgess

Guys

Joer has asked a very interesting question.

I  have deleted most of the responses as they did not deal with it e.g. sand storms, The coronavirus generally, and the price of Ryanair shares.

It's a lot of work for the mods trying to keep important practical threads on topic.  Please help by starting a new thread if you have a new topic.

It would also be a huge help if you don't respond to posts which are off topic.  And don't take offence when your reply to an off-topic post is deleted. 

Brendan


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## orka

noproblem said:


> Off myself again next Thursday to the Canaries


A case has been confirmed in Tenerife (Adeje) - an Italian tourist tested positive according to Sky News.


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## noproblem

orka said:


> A case has been confirmed in Tenerife (Adeje) - an Italian tourist tested positive according to Sky News.


Not the first one either, there was another on one of the islands at the beginning of February as well.


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## SoylentGreen

As noproblem says.......if you go on holidays will you be able to return.....

The Tenerife hotel is in lock down.....

According to newspaper reports...."Around 1,000 guests have now been quarantined inside the hotel, Spanish media says, *with police reportedly surrounding the complex *which is popular with Britons. "


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## joer

Also cases in  Florence , which is where we were going , and the south of Italy . So this is spreading fast so the WHO and other relevant bodies need to respond quickly to this rapidly spreading virus. Also it seems Austria, Switzerland and Croatia have been mentioned. 
It is only a matter of time before Airlines are hit with no shows and cancellations.


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## Purple

Good info in this Journal article


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## joer

Just heard on Liveline today of a man whos child is due to travel to Northern Italy on a school tour. I was under the impression that travel to "infected areas" were were to be cancelled , due to the virus, with refunds. He was told that the school had approx 90 per cent in favour of the trip not going ahead but said that he will not be refunded. Can anyone tell me why is this. Is it because of Travel ins, or is it another hard luck story. As far as i know this trip was booked quite a while ago. If the school booked this surely they would have made sure of the free cancellation . He said that it cost him approx 800 euro, i think that is what he said. 
If this is the case how many more school students or their parents are going to be out of pocket ?


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## Leo

joer said:


> Just heard on Liveline today of a man whos child is due to travel to Northern Italy on a school tour. I was under the impression that travel to "infected areas" were were to be cancelled , due to the virus, with refunds.



Not all of northern Italy is classified as affected. Travel insurance will only cover areas specifically called out on the DFA site. If people choose not to travel to other areas, they will forfeit everything. Free cancellation is rarely an option for package tours.


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## Nutso

Is it true that travel insurance will only kick in if "travel disruption" is an added extra on your insurance policy?


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## joer

But if the school cancel the trip and they have not the correct levels of travel ins. are they not the people who should lose out on this not the parents of the students who have booked this through their school.


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## Leo

joer said:


> But if the school cancel the trip and they have not the correct levels of travel ins.



I don't believe there is any insurance that covers changing your mind. If parents expect such cover, they need to understand that it is they who will pay for it, and all school trips will be considerably more expensive.


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## shweeney

joer said:


> But if the school cancel the trip and they have not the correct levels of travel ins. are they not the people who should lose out on this not the parents of the students who have booked this through their school.



I'd imagine the parents have already paid, and the school in turn has already paid for the flights, hotels etc.; short of suing the school how do you propose they get the money back? School trips like this are generally optional, the parents chose to send the kids.


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## joer

Now that Ryanair have cancelled trips to affected areas in Italy, perhaps they will all , the parents or students, get their money back, I hope that they do. 
And Leo, I dont think they are changing their minds, I  would call it been good parents to their children taking safety in to account , with 90 per cent agreeing not to go because of this virus.
I would also think nowadays that anyone booking trips , including schools, would make sure of having free cancellation on their hotels rather than taking a chance. 
If they were to lose the price of flights it would be a small price to pay in the event of having to cancel a whole trip for whatever reason.


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## Leo

joer said:


> Now that Ryanair have cancelled trips to affected areas in Italy, perhaps they will all , the parents or students, get their money back,



I doubt many are travelling on scheduled flights, so unlikely. They also won't get refunds on accommodation or other costs. 



joer said:


> And Leo, I dont think they are changing their minds, I would call it been good parents to their children taking safety in to account



And that's perfectly fine, and it is of course their choice. But legally, it is their choice, there is no product on the market to insure that risk.



joer said:


> I would also think nowadays that anyone booking trips , including schools, would make sure of having free cancellation on their hotels rather than taking a chance.



Again, free cancellation is simply not an option in the charter business. There just isn't the market to resell 50 seat packages in the time frames involved. Given the choice of an €800 non-refundable trip or the same trip for €1200+ with the option to cancel, which would most parents choose? If you wanted to fly to London next month, would you choose Aer Lingus' €133 standard fare or their €383 one so you'd have the option to cancel? RyanAir's FlexiPlus option is similarly priced.


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## odyssey06

Department of Foreign Affairs have updated their Do Not Travel advice to all of Italy  - important for those trying to claim on their travel insurance for cancellations.

If you make a new flight booking with Aer Lingus, they will waive change fees:


			https://www.aerlingus.com/plan-and-book/plan/book-with-peace-of-mind/
		


Not much use though if you've already booked to an area likely to be the next outbreak zone such as Spain, France etc


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## odyssey06

This is the information from Multitrip.com \ Blue Insurance on the coronavirus:


			http://www.blueinsurance.ie/common/Coronavirus-MapfreIRL.pdf
		


This is the VHI information:


			https://www.vhi.ie/downloads/CoronavirusCustomerAdvice.pdf


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## Brendan Burgess

Good questions and answers on travel issues in today's Irish Times. 









						Coronavirus: Your travel questions answered
					

Readers express concerns over cancelled flights, travel insurance and holidays




					www.irishtimes.com


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## Saavy99

Is travel insurance invalid when a pandemic is declared?


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## Anita Lane

I would love to know this too. My travel policy excludes pandemics


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## BOXtheFOX

Reading the small print of my travel insurance today I see that my travel cover covers "medical epidemic" and "pandemic". However it also says there is an exclusion..."*You changing your mind to travel or continue with your trip when the local or national authorities confirm that it safe to stay*".....I must also get written confirmation of the disaster from the local or national authority of the area where it happened.

I am due to travel to Spain.  Simon Harris said that we should not make non essential trips to Spain....   Is this sufficient?


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## BOXtheFOX

Saavy99 said:


> Is travel insurance invalid when a pandemic is declared?


Your policy will state that you should not needlessly exposure yourself to danger. It also says that you have a duty to avoid or minimise a claim, to take reasonable care and to safeguard against illness.

Therefore you can argue that you have decided not to travel because you wanted to safeguard yourself from danger and that by not travelling you were minimising the possibility of a further claim being made......if you got sick or had to pay extra costs because of quarantine, change in flights, hotel costs etc...


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## Laughahalla

Advice is to avoid non essential travel to Spain now. A couple of days ago it was to avoid certain regions in Spain.


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## Leper

I telephoned one of my neighbours in Spain earlier and was informed that parts of the Province of Murcia (30 mins drive south from Alicante airport) are in Lockdown because of the virus. Only trips to pharmacy, supermarket, doctor allowed. I don't have the full details.


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## Leper

__





						BREAKING NEWS: Spain’s bars & restaurants in Costa Blanca ordered to shut down from 00:00 tonight in preparation for lock down
					

Spain’s bars, restaurants, shows and leisure centres in Costa Blanca have been ordered to close down from 00:00 across the region this evening, as Spain




					www.euroweeklynews.com
				




All bars and restaurants in Costa Blanca to close from midnight tonight in anticipation of a State of Emergency to be declared all over Spain.


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## Ceist Beag

AirBnB are offering a full refund on cancellations for reservations for stays made on or before 14 March 2020, with a check-in date between 14 March 2020 and 14 April 2020 , source https://www.airbnb.ie/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19


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