Getting a refund for a cancelled holiday (+ compensation)
Your travel agent has cancelled your trip. What now?
Are you entitled to a refund for a cancelled holiday?
If you have booked a trip with a reputable tour agent, you don’t need to worry. If a travel agent cancels a package tour, they must act in accordance with the contract — refund the money and, in some cases, also pay compensation. If your package holiday was cancelled due to flight disruptions, you may also be entitled to a compensation from the airline.
Check your compensation online!
Read on to find out more.
1. What is a package holiday?
First things first, what is a package holiday or package tour?
What do we mean when we say “package holiday”?
How can you know if it's a package holiday? That’s easy — if you have bought more than one type of service from a travel agent, it’s considered a package holiday. Package holidays usually comprise transport (e.g., plane, bus) and accommodation. Often excursions are included too.
If your package holiday is cancelled or delayed, the travel agent you bought it from is liable for the proper performance of the services.
2. Why was your package holiday cancelled?
There are several reasons why package tours get cancelled.
Flight cancellation
When it comes to package holidays, mostly these are charter flights.
But even charter flights sometimes get cancelled. And when that happens your whole holiday may also get cancelled or delayed by a day or two, sometimes more. If it’s a last-minute flight cancellation, and the reason behind it isn’t something extraordinary and unavoidable, you may also be entitled to compensation from the airline.
As long as your flight is:
- Delayed for 3+ hours;
- Cancelled less than 14 days before the date of departure.
It applies also to charter flights and charter airlines.
Additionally, you may also be entitled to compensation from travel agent (if your contract with the travel agency says so).
Check your compensation online!
Other reasons
Your package tour can be cancelled due to various other reasons.
Some of the most popular reasons are:
- Security issues (like terrorism threat);
- Natural disaster;
- Issues with accommodation (e.g., no availability);
- Not enough people have booked the trip;
- COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Travel agent liability
If your package tour is cancelled, you might be protected by law.
It depends from the local laws of the country the agent is registered in. In the UK, and if the trip is booked on or after 1 July 2018, you are protected by law (Package Travel Regulations). In some cases, you may be entitled to a compensation from your travel agency. Read the contract carefully and make sure you don't miss something important.
Here is something that applies to everyone.
If it’s a flight from or to the UK or EU, and your flight is either delayed or cancelled, you may also be entitled to compensation from the airline. That’s the rules in the UK and EU, and they apply to everyone, not only UK and EU citizens. If it’s a flight departing from the UK or EU, these same rules apply also to other airlines (non-UK, non-EU). Whenever such flight cancellation compensation is due, it must be paid to your bank account — you don’t have to accept vouchers or credit.
Note, that travel agents don’t pay this compensation.
To get this compensation you have to contact the airline.
Alternatively, you can let us file a claim on your behalf.
How to apply for flight cancellation compensation?
Here we are talking about airline compensation.
That's the compensation you might be entitled to if your holiday was cancelled or delayed due to a delayed or cancelled flight, not due to fault of your travel agent or something else that’s considered outside of the airline’s control. To get this compensation, you have to request it from the airline. Your travel agent is not responsible for it.
These are your two best options:
1. You can do it all on your own.
2. You can also take the easiest path — register your claim online with us, and let us be your legal representatives. In this case we will do all the negotiations on your behalf. At the end of the process you will only have to tell us your bank account, so we know where to transfer the money.
When working with us, here is all you will have to do:
- Go to this page;
- Fill in the details about yourself and your flight;
- Upload your boarding pass and passport copy;
- Sign the claim online.
We will do the rest.
Learn more:
By Europe and EU we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.