The Foreign Office has changed its restrictions, extending the warning against all non-essential travel ‘indefinitely’.
In mid-March, the Foreign Office warned Brits against all non-essential travel for 30 days. This initial ban was due to run until April 16, but has now been extended with no end date mentioned.
Travel update ✈️: The Foreign Office indefinitely advises against all non-essential global travel
➡️ Read our guidance: https://t.co/G30uvrt6iW
➡️ Follow @FCOtravel for country updates
➡️ More information here: https://t.co/gEkkRIWaYw pic.twitter.com/ktadUI0Q9t
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) April 4, 2020
The Foreign Office spoke out in a tweet over the weekend, which read: “Travel update: The Foreign Office indefinitely advises against all non-essential global travel.”
A video accompanies the tweet, stating: “We now advise against all non-essential global travel – indefinitely. The situation is changing rapidly. Travelled could face severe disruption and be unable to return to the UK.”
As holidays are not considered essential, despite how you may feel after working non-stop for weeks on end, this means any trips you have booked in the near future, may no longer be going ahead.
Foreign Office warnings are important because they are likely to determine whether or not your travel insurance company will pay out for holidays booked before the warning was issued.
If your trip was due to take place in the very near future, it’s likely your airline or travel firm has already been in touch to let you know it has been cancelled, and they should be able to take you through your options. Package holidays should be fully refunded, and you should be able to get a full refund on most flights.
If your trip/flight hasn’t been cancelled (…yet), you may still be able to make a claim for cancellation, based on the new Foreign Office advice. It’s worth getting in touch with them to check.
If your planned holiday is further in the future, say from summer onwards, it is very possible that the travel bans may be lifted by then (despite them being ‘indefinite’), so you probably won’t be able to make a claim on your insurance until much nearer the time.
For a more in depth run down on what this indefinite ban means for you and your upcoming trip, head to MoneySavingExpert.com.