Can I get cash back if I cancel my flight with British Airways?

Simon Calder answers your questions on flight vouchers, compensation rules and getting home amid the coronavirus pandemic

Ministers have warned against non-essential travel (Getty)

Q I am due to fly to South Africa on 31 March with British Airways. I can’t get through on the phone and no reply on Twitter. When I go in to “Manage My Booking” to try to cancel or get a voucher I only get the voucher option. Could you please let me know what I’m entitled to?

JLK

A I am not sure whether you are flying to Cape Town or Johannesburg, but at present both flights are scheduled to be operating normally from Heathrow on 31 March. British Airways is still selling tickets for both departures, at what would normally be a very reasonable one-way fare of under £500.

Since you booked, there are two very good reasons why you would want to cancel: the Foreign Office warning against non-essential overseas travel anywhere outside the UK, and South Africa’s sudden demand for a visa from British travellers.

The latest FCO advice says: “Visitors from a number of countries affected by coronavirus, including the United Kingdom, will not be permitted to enter South Africa from 18 March 2020 without a visa.”

In these circumstances it would be challenging and stressful to obtain a visa in time, and that does not look like a realistic option. As a result of the coronavirus crisis, you are in the invidious position of providing an excellent example of the difference between buying a package holiday and a flight on its own.

Anyone with a package (including flights and accommodation in the same transaction) between now and 16 April will have the trip cancelled because tour operators do not go against Foreign Office advice. The passenger will be able to claim a full refund within two weeks.

But travellers who buy a plane ticket have no such rights. Even before the coronavirus crisis, it was perfectly possible to buy flights to places that the Foreign Office warned against visiting; I am just returned from one such location, Yemen.

So although it might not feel like it, British Airways is doing you (and anyone else due to travel between now and 31 May 2020) a favour. It has a straightforward scheme to convert the value of your ticket into a voucher valid to any BA destination, on any chosen dates within 12 months from your original departure.

I imagine that you, like many passengers, would much prefer a cash refund, so you can spend the money however you wish. That becomes possible if British Airways decides to ground your flight which it may well do (along with the majority of other services). So just wait for another week and see if a cancellation email appears. If it doesn’t, you will still have time to convert the flight to a voucher.

The Foreign Office is offering support for UK nationals in Indonesia (Getty/iStock)

Q Our 23-year-old granddaughter, who has joint British and Australian nationality, is trapped in Bali with her boyfriend and his parents who are only UK citizens. They have booked on many flights to both Australia and UK which then get cancelled. They are now booked on a flight on 28 March but are concerned that that too might be cancelled at the last minute.

Our granddaughter is not well, possibly with Covid-19. We need advice on the best way of getting help to get them either to back to the UK or Australia. She has a 30-day visa that expires at the end of the month and has been told that to extend that will cost £60 a day.

Name supplied

A The most important aspect is that if your granddaughter is showing symptoms of coronavirus then she should not be in contact with other people, and should certainly not be travelling. She should self-isolate and contact the Australian Consulate-General in Bali for advice and assistance; the number is +62 361 200 0100.

When she is fit to travel it would make sense for her to go to Australia, because it is a much shorter flight and likely to be easier to reach – though she will be required to self-isolate again for two weeks on arrival. Her boyfriend and his parents should carefully consider whether they are possibly infectious and also need to self-isolate.

In any event, being only UK citizens, they will not be welcome in Australia. The Foreign Office warns that Indonesia’s health care system could come under significant strain with the spread of coronavirus: “Access to routine and emergency healthcare may be limited. British nationals in Indonesia who wish to leave, should make arrangements to do so as soon as possible. The number of international flights out of Indonesia is reducing daily, to destinations within the region and globally, so you may not be able to leave Indonesia when you had planned to.”

Clearly they have tried to do this without success so far. I am not quite sure why, because there is a steady flow of flights from Bali to the Gulf hubs of Dubai and Doha, from where there are onward connections to the UK. So I suggest they take up the Foreign Office invitation that: “Support for British nationals in the country is available 24/7 on +62 212 356 5200.”

In theory the four of them could be penalised by the Indonesian authorities for overstaying. But in practice, given the extreme circumstances this is most unlikely.

TUI offered quick compensation but it was lower than a reader expected (Getty)

Q My mother and I have recently flown with TUI and had our flight home delayed by 13 hours and then diverted whilst in the air from landing in Bristol to Gatwick. When arriving home I completed the TUI flight-delay form and received a very quick same-day response advising that we were entitled to €400 (£370) per passenger.

My question is this: if we accept this amount do we then have no right to request more or fight our case? The circumstances surrounding this flight were absolutely abysmal and I truly feel we should be due a much larger payout. How and what would be the best steps to take from here?

Cloe S

A Given the deepening gloom over the coronavirus crisis, it is almost a relief to tackle a question about something unrelated – though I am sorry it involved disarray and inconvenience for you. I am glad that TUI responded swiftly and positively to acknowledge your entitlement to compensation under the European air passengers’ rights rules.

I imagine arriving 13 hours late at the wrong airport was stressful and frustrating, especially if it was one of those “creeping” delays where solid information is hard to come by. Last week I endured a similar wait at Aden airport, trying to reach Cairo, for which no compensation is payable because the Middle East does not have such generous provisions.

Having said all of that – unless the delay was of spectacular awfulness, I suggest you accept the payment and move on. While you may wish to claim separately for any additional costs caused by the delay, for example for transport from Gatwick to Bristol, I advise against claiming further damages. One reason is that any legal action that does not focus on financial harm is unlikely to succeed. The other is that the travel industry and the people who work in it are in the middle of extreme distress. A claim for poor treatment, however well justified, does not strike me right now as appropriate.

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