Holiday companies around the UK have now started canceling their packages based on travel advice from the government. Yesterday, TUI announced that it would suspend its holiday service for five weeks. Similarly, Jet2 says all its flights will be suspended until 17th June.

TUI stops operations for the next five weeks

The UK branch of the international travel company TUI yesterday announced that it would be suspending its package holidays until 14th May inclusive. The travel conglomerate will stop the following services:

  • TUI beach holidays up to and including 14th May
  • Marella Cruise holidays up to and including 31st May
  • TUI River Cruise will now launch six months later than intended, on 26th November.

The reason behind TUI's string of cancelations is based on guidance from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). A new update from the body suggested that UK nationals should not be traveling abroad. The FCO urges Britons to stay in their homes, and to forgo all but essential travel. Furthermore, any citizens that find themselves abroad already should return home immediately.

For TUI's business case, these changes mean that offering package holidays abroad is nigh on impossible.

Tui 757 takeoff
Under FO advice, TUI must suspend operations until 14th May. Photo: Alan Wilson via Flickr

Whilst its decision seems like the obvious one, it is not without its difficulties. TUI is still supporting its customers who may have been affected by these changes. However certain social distancing measures have affected the way it works.

In a statement on its website, the company says:

"Our customer teams are working extremely hard to contact everyone affected, however changes in ways of working and the closure of our retail stores have impacted the speed at which this can happen. And have also made it more difficult for our customers to reach us."

Jet2 Holidays and flights are suspended

Jet2 take off
Jet2 will add 5 new flights to its Easter holiday schedule. Photo: Adrian Pingstone via Wikimedia Commons

In a similar vein, Jet2 has also suspended its holiday program and flights in light of COVID-19 developments around the world. In a statement on Twitter, the airline indicted "ongoing uncertainty" as the root cause of the cancelations. The fact that many global airports are closed and countries locked down also bears culpability.

The airline suspended its flights and holiday packages on 7th April and will continue to uphold the ban until 17th June. It says it will be in contact with all its affected customers and urges people not to contact the airline at this hectic time.

Unfortunately for Jet2, these new developments are not the most expedient. Just a few short months ago it was reaping the benefits of the Thomas Cook demise with more slots at its UK airports, the likes of which provided 170,000 extra winter seats.

What does this mean for customers?

Interestingly, whilst these two UK companies have a similar strategy for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, their optimism about a return to normal services differs. Jet2 foresees that it will need to suspend its flight services over one month longer than TUI before it can hope for business as usual.

In terms of which organization is correct, the jury is out. However, it's most likely that TUI will be forced to revisit the date it has pegged for an end to suspension as the weeks go by. Jet2's date for lifting the suspension is more conservative, however, it might also be a bit more realistic.

Low-cost carrier Jet2 tops the survey, with only 19% of passengers waiting on a refund. Photo: Jet2

For customers traveling between these respective dates, holidays will not go ahead. However, at present, it is unclear what these customers will receive. ABTA, which is the travel trade association in the UK, is currently in talks with the government to secure permission for these holiday companies to offer vouchers and credit notes rather than full refunds. The idea behind this is to keep these companies stable and, later, in business for as long as possible.

For those who had booked with these companies, this could mean receiving a voucher which entitles them to rebook on another holiday. The advantage of this method is that both customers and businesses reap the benefits. However, if a new package is not booked or travel is not completed by a certain date, passengers will be able to secure a refund. The details of this approach are not yet published.

Have you been affected by holiday cancelations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.Â