Consumer rights expert Martyn James explains your rights if you’re due to travel to the Middle East amid the on-going conflict in Iran
The conflict in the Middle East has caught many travellers and holidaymakers by surprise, leaving thousands of people stranded abroad.
When travel problems arise, the sheer scale of the situation can be overwhelming. Dubai International Airport alone is the busiest in the world for passenger numbers, with 95 million passing through last year.
The Middle Eastern airlines have come to dominate long-haul transportation, which is why the transport hubs in their home countries have left so many people trapped abroad.
Over 20,000 flights were cancelled in matter of days. But with the holiday season yet to begin, what does this mean for your holiday? Here’s my guide.
How do I get home if my holiday is affected by conflict or another disaster?
If you are already on holiday and you have to leave suddenly due to war and conflict, extreme weather, other major disasters, a serious police incident or political unrest, then your holiday company or airline is responsible for getting you home, depending on the severity of the incident.
The government will also step in to ‘repatriate’ you and will work with airlines to find ways to get you home.
Finding yourself in this situation can be terrifying and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by events around you. But stay calm and regularly check the guidance from your airline and updates on the Foreign Office website.
If you are on a package holiday, the company providing the holiday is usually responsible for repatriating you, usually on its own planes. If you’ve booked separate flights and accommodation, then the airline is your first port of call.
However, if your airline or holiday company can’t get you on one of their planes, they should aim to get you on the soonest available flight from a competitor.
This may result in delays when lots of people are affected, as is the case at the moment. I understand that the people stranded in the Middle East, in the main, are being provided with accommodation during this period. But if that isn’t the case, you can ask the airline to accommodate or advise you.
Make sure you have your bags packed as you may not get lots of notice to travel to the airport. Keep your phone charged and have your documents handy. Do not travel to the airport unless you are told it is safe to do so.
In recent years, we’ve seen wildfires in leading holiday destinations like Greece where danger to life was considerable. In circumstances like this, both package holiday firms and airlines will activate their emergency plans to fly holidaymakers home.
Evacuations can be distressing and frustrating, so expect queues and challenges at airports. However, as I write, we haven’t reached this point yet in the Middle East.
Above all else, don’t panic and cancel your existing travel arrangements when stuck abroad. You can book on an alternative flight and try to claim the money back if an opportunity arises, though check with your airline first as they may not agree to “excessive” costs.
What are my rights if I am due to travel to a conflict or disaster area?
So what about people who are due to fly to disaster areas? This is the number one question I’ve had from readers since the conflict began.
If the Foreign Office website advises against all travel or all but essential travel, chances are you’ll be able to request a refund for free, or at the very least, rebook your flight/holiday to a future date without fees.
However, some airlines are being a bit cagey around this. MoneySavingExpert.com has put together a useful guide to what the airlines are currently saying.
When the travel advice changes, you may find you don’t want to travel anymore, which is understandable. This is known by the rather clunky term “disinclination to fly”.
This is the time to turn to the terms and conditions. Your holiday package deal or airline will have T&Cs will have clauses covering whether it’s safe to travel to a holiday destination.
Go through the contract and refer to it when speaking to the business. Have a plan about what you’re willing to accept as a resolution and make it clear that you will both complain to the firms’ alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme and the regulator if they do not comply.
But you may wish to bypass this hassle by going straight to your travel insurer (see below)
Can I get a refund if my holiday is ruined by conflict or a natural disaster?
If your holiday is “curtailed” – to use the official term – and you have to leave early, you may be able to claim some compensation depending on the circumstances and what your contract with the hotel or holiday company covers.
From a legal perspective, businesses are not generally responsible for things out of their control like war, natural disasters or extreme weather.
However, most have clauses in your contract covering what happens if the hotel or holiday firm cannot provide the service you have paid them to deliver. So if you get evacuated and the hotel closes, that’s not your fault either. Under these circumstances, you may be able to get a ‘proportional refund’.
When you buy any goods or services in the UK you enter in to a contract with the business. This contract will cover what happens if the services aren’t provided in full or in part.
For example, if you travel to a hotel waterpark in the UK and all the pools are closed, then you haven’t got what you paid for, despite being able to stay at the venue. This means the business should consider refunding you a proportion of what you’ve paid to reflect this – or in some circumstances, all of it.
If you had a two-week package holiday in Dubai booked and the holiday was cancelled seven days in to your trip, you might expect to get a refund of the remaining seven days.
But the business may be able to knock off the cost of your flight home (if you got on one) from your refund as that’s part of their service they have provided.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance is absolutely essential, though millions of people chance it each year and risk huge costs if something goes wrong.
However, insurance contracts have exclusions for major events that are “unforeseen”. This includes war, conflict, acts of terrorism, extreme weather, volcano eruptions and more.
This doesn’t mean you won’t get any help from your insurer – it simply means you won’t get your holiday refunded if war breaks out and you can’t go.
Of course, getting a refund or compensation for the bits of the holiday you couldn’t use is one thing. But many things you’ve spent your money on for your holiday will not be refunded.
However, you can claim for other things on the policy, like medical treatment, loss and theft of items and other situations that might arise when stuck abroad. For example, most policies have options for lost or damaged luggage, possessions and valuables in their T&Cs.
You’re usually asked to notify the firm about a “claimable event” as soon as possible, but when emergencies occur, I’d expect the insurer to give you much more leeway.
Your policy may also cover things like emergency costs. This might include clothes, communications costs, basic food and drink and sometimes accommodation.
As always, speak to your insurer before you start spending. You may even be entitled to some things that hadn’t occurred to you.
What does this mean for my holidays in the future?
From extreme heatwaves and weather disasters to conflicts and wars, many things can suddenly arise and ruin your travel plans. This doesn’t mean you should expect the worst. But it does make sense to be adaptable and ready to change your plans.
It’s more important than ever that you buy a decent insurance policy and understand what it covers you for. Save the emergency claim number and policy number in to the phone (maybe consider photographing the introduction letter too) so you have the information in an emergency.
Do a bit of research on your holiday destination before you travel – and check the weather in particular. 38 degrees may sound great in freezing old Britain, but that’s too hot to do stuff during the day in many countries.
Book on a credit card if you can and try to do it direct from the holiday firm or airline. If you spend over £100 you have some degree of protection if something goes wrong and you can’t get a refund from a holiday firm.
You can also book through a travel agent or a member of an industry scheme like ABTA or ATOL to get some extra protection with your travel plans.
- Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist.
