This is how airlines act against the coronavirus: flight cancellation and change policies
Updated on the day: 03/16/2020. Due to the global epidemic situation affecting countries like China, Italy and Spain to a greater extent, and after the request by the Government not to travel, except if strictly necessary , with the purpose of prevent the spread of coronavirus , the airlines have taken part in the matter making their exchange policies more flexible and in some cases, refunding the money of the tickets to travelers with inability to fly (In addition, we have compiled the cancellation policies of the main hotel groups).
According to the latest data from the report provided by IATA (International Air Transport Association) , in 2020 the sector will suffer a loss of global income of between 63,000 million dollars, in the best of cases, up to 113,000 million dollars in the worst case scenario , the one in which the Coronavirus spreads to more and more countries. A unprecedented economic impact that airlines try to combat by making their policies more flexible and instilling customer confidence with even new offers.
This is how airlines are acting against the coronavirus: flight cancellation and change policies
A note: if you have purchased your flight with one airline, but it is operated by another, the claim to request a possible change or refund must always be made to the company where you bought the ticket.
This is how the airlines have acted and these are his new policies in the face of an imminent trip that must be postponed or canceled . In addition to new offers to encourage purchase of tickets for the coming months.
RYANAIR
The low cost company has just published (on March 16) a statement announcing that eliminate the penalty for flight change for those tickets for travel in april , (They do it due to air and country restrictions due to the health epidemic).
Following the Italian government's decision to "quarantine" the entire country, Ryanair has announced that it is suspending all its flights to, from or within Italy until at least April 8..
Due to this drastic measure, affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or travel credits that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights for 1 year . As an additional measure for travelers who are already at their destination (in Italy), the airline offers repatriate them with a free relocation on a Ryanair flight that operates before the entry into force of these measures the next friday march 13.
IBERIA
The Spanish flag carrier has made its ticket exchange policy more flexible to or from destinations affected by the coronavirus outbreak such as Italy or Japan until the next sunday march 15 . Exchange management can be done through Iberia's own website, while if the tickets were purchased through an agency, it will be the agency that handles the procedures. It should be remembered that this not only concerns Iberia, but also subsidiaries such as Iberia Express or Air Nostrum.
All those passengers who bought a ticket from Madrid to Shanghai , a route that was canceled in January, and that apparently will not be operational until, at least, next May, have the right to request the full amount of the ticket.
EASYJET
Within the aerial panorama, which is truly bleak, it is the low-cost airlines that are most suffering from the lack of demand from travelers . The EasyJet airline has just announced a plan where it describes that will cancel all your routes , and that it will implement a package of austerity measures after detecting a "significant" decrease in demand.
The British low-cost airline is one of the few that has not relaxed its exchange rate policy due to the coronavirus , so if the client wants to do something, must pay the corresponding penalty or, failing that, lose the ticket . This is specified on their website: “As the airports are open, our generic terms and conditions remain the same, which means that our commissions and surcharges are non-refundable. If you cancel, miss or miss your flight unfortunately we will not be able to refund you”.
VUELING
According to the EFE agency , it is not confirmed if Vueling will refund the money to those passengers with tickets for destinations such as Italy, or how many flights have had to be canceled as a result of this health crisis . The airline, based in Barcelona, has indeed confirmed the suppression of frequencies on various various routes (such as Barcelona-Menorca), due to low demand.
What the airline has confirmed IAG group is that a higher level of flexibility will be provided to all customers by allowing them to change their flight dates for all new bookings made between March 10 and 23. These changes in the dates may be until December 31, 2020.
AIR EUROPE
The airline, which has just announced a ERTE, a Temporary Employment Regulation File , as a drastic measure to counteract the sharp drop in demand, launches the promotion 'You are very free' , thanks to which offers the passenger to freely change the date of the tickets, as long as they have been purchased before March 31 , to fly for the next 12 months.
The airline has also confirmed that due to the health crisis, will allow changes for those tickets issued until February 23, 2020 whose destination is Italy, although the price difference between the tickets must be paid if the rate is higher. The refund of the amount of the ticket will depend on the rate, if it allows it or not.
AIR FRANCE / KLM
Since the appearance of COVID-19 , the Air France and KLM group has been one of the first to make your policies more flexible in allowing you to change your planned trips to/from areas at risk of exposure . Both companies have also extended these measures since last week. to your entire network , for future flight reservations and existing ones, in order to encourage sales and travel plans, which today is practically paralyzed.
In this context, any Air France or KLM ticket purchased before March 31, 2020 (included) , for travel between March 6 and May 31, 2020 , regardless of the original conditions of the ticket and its destination, you can change free of charge until May 31, 2020 included , to the same destination and in the same booking class.
To those customers who wish to report their trip beyond May 31, 2020, change destination or cancel it, a non-refundable voucher valid for one year will be offered to you on Air France and KLM flights . This measure also applies to all tickets already issued for trips planned between March 6 and May 31, 2020.
The bad news comes now, as Air France-KLM expects cancel a total of 3,600 flights across its network during the month of March and that will reduce by 25% its flight program in Europe due to the drop in demand.
EMIRATES AIRLINES
Dubai's flag carrier introduces newly introduced waiver for all tickets issued since the past March 7 to 31 . As in the case of Air France and KLM, the new policy allows customers change your travel dates with no change or ticket reissue fees.
This measure, in addition to trying to encourage safe shopping , guarantees peace of mind that in case customers decide to change their travel plans due to the changing situation of the COVID-19 , they can do so at no cost to travel within an 11-month period in the same class booked, although fare changes will apply if applicable.
The purpose, as confirmed Adnan Kazim , commercial director of Emirates Airlines is that “our clients feel totally supported, comfortable and safe when making travel plans , while we offer you the better rates without incurring change fees if they decide to delay or adjust the dates . The situation remains dynamic and we will continue to look for ways to provide flexibility, convenience and peace of mind to our customers."
For added peace of mind, Emirates is also taking its aircraft cleaning process to the next level through additional precautionary measures to implement disinfection procedures upgraded for flights departing from destinations most affected by COVID-19. If the airline is alerted to any suspected or confirmed cases of infectious diseases, they will deploy teams right away for one deeper cleaning to thoroughly disinfect all cabins on that aircraft with strongest, industry-approved chemicals . On all of its aircraft, Emirates uses hepa filters , which have shown remove over 99% of viruses in the cockpit environment . If there is a suspected case on board, Emirates will go a step further and replace all HEPA filters on the aircraft.
NORWEGIAN
As of March 21, the company will fly, above all, a reduced schedule of domestic flights in Norway Y between nordic cities . Some European flights will be operated. All intercontinental flights will be cancelled, except for Oslo to Bangkok and Krabi, and from Copenhagen to Krabi . All operating flights are available for sale on norwegian.com. This reduced flight schedule will remain in effect until at least April 17 , but will be reviewed periodically based on changes in travel restrictions and demand.
Due to the situation caused by the coronavirus, the airline has just announced that plans to cancel about 3,000 flights between mid-March and June , which represents the 15% of the total for this period . In addition, Norwegian is also going to implement temporary job suspensions to a part of its staff , decisions that are taken due to the drop in demand, which are combined with the delicate financial situation that the airline was already going through.
“This is a critical time for the aviation industry . We encourage the authorities to implement immediate measures to imminently reduce the financial burden on airlines in order to protect critical infrastructure and jobs ”, declared the CEO of Norwegian, Jacob Schram , in his official statement.
The airline is also waiving change fees for customers who booked flights to or from different destinations in Italy . Currently, these clients they can change their itineraries to travel until May 18 , although it does not rule out an extension depending on the epidemic situation.
QANTAS
The fall in demand has also reached distant paradises such as Australia , which is why its flag carrier has announced a reduction of one 23% of its international flights (which will mainly affect Asia) for the next six months. But this is not the only measure within the crash plan to reduce costs in the airline, since the plan also includes measures such as cutting the bonuses of its directors, or that eight of the ten aircraft High-capacity, high-cost Airbus A380 grounded until mid-September.
And why ground the A380s? Alan Joyce, company delegate, explains: “ we expect the lower demand to continue in the coming months So instead of taking a phased approach we are reducing capacity until mid-September.” Fewer seats, greater optimization of resources.
QATAR AIRWAYS
In line with the rest of the airlines, Qatar Airways has also created a new trade policy to provide security for customers buying a plane ticket , and until June 30, 2020 they will have the flexibility to change their travel plan for free at modify the dates of your reservation or change your ticket for a travel voucher valid for one year. Instilling confidence and tranquility in view of the coronavirus are the company's objectives during this time of travel uncertainty, and this is confirmed by the CEO of Qatar Airways Group , Mr. Akbar Al Bakar: “ The safety and good health of our passengers and employees is our top priority . Although we hold the highest hygiene standards in all areas of the business We recognize that some passengers may wish to change their current travel plans."
And precisely when it comes to hygiene, the gulf airline has also made public its disinfection protocol regular use of their aircraft and the use of cleaning products recommended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In addition, the Qatar Airways fleet has advanced air filtration systems, equipped with industrial-size HEPA filters that eliminate the 99.97% of viral and bacterial contaminants from recirculated air . All sheets and blankets on board the airline are washed, dried and pressed at temperatures that are lethal to microbes and, in addition, headsets are defoamed and rigorously disinfected after each flight.
In reference to the tableware of its catering, from Qatar Airways they confirm that "t All foodservice utensils and cutlery are washed with detergents at temperatures that kill pathogenic bacteria ”. And they add that there can be no margin for error because "all the disinfected equipment is handled by personnel with hygienic disposable gloves, while the cutlery is repackaged individually."
TURKISH AIRLINES
The speed of the Turkish airline in instilling tranquility among its passengers has been commendable almost since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis , showing the world the additional safety and hygiene measures they have carried out in order to minimize both its effects and its spread.
At Turkish, all cabin staff have been informed in detail about the necessary measures regarding how to act against the virus . In addition, the crew of international flights will undergo a medical examination after each flight if necessary. Like they have made known Emirates or Qatar, Turkish Airlines planes also undergo a extensive cleaning process upon completion of your flight, in accordance with the guidelines of national and international civil aviation authorities.
Protocol mandates that prior to the entry of standard cleaning personnel, a four-person special hygiene personnel cleans the aircraft in detail with specific disinfectants . High-conflict surfaces like tray tables, entertainment screens, or seat belt buckles are thoroughly cleaned with strong disinfectants. Also, planes also have a good number of masks, disposable gloves or disinfectants.
Hospital-grade High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters constantly clean cabin air during flight. East filtration system periodically and completely refreshes the air during the flight.
About your flight policy, for tickets purchased between March 6 and 24, the penalty is eliminated in case of change.
FINNAIR
The Finnish flag carrier has just announced that increases the flexibility of your policy instead the exceptional situation due to the current coronavirus outbreak So, and in order to favor all new reservations made during March and April , passengers can change flights who have booked no later than April 30, 2020, completely free of charge , until November 30, 2020. With this measure, the airline intends to stimulate demand for flights among all those passengers who are thinking of traveling, but who have doubts about how long this epidemic situation could last.
Date changes on flights operated by Finnair can be made online, at finnair.com section Manage reservation ; contacting with customer service on 901 888 126 via Twitter at @FinnairHelps , And in the airline Facebook pages . For group reservations it is necessary to contact [email protected] , and for tickets issued by a travel agency, the contact is the corresponding agency.
TAP PORTUGAL
As is happening with most airlines, If you buy a ticket between March 8 and 31, TAP admits change of dates without additional cost. either.
The Portuguese flag carrier has canceled around 1,000 flights in recent weeks . From TAP they confirm that these cancellations "focus especially on operations in the most affected regions, especially Italy, but they also include the reduction of supply in other markets such as Spain or France, and some intercontinental flights." More information about refunds and changes in FLYTAP.