COVID-19 puts travel industry in a 'perfect storm of chaos'
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:53:05 +0000
The travel industry is in a “perfect storm of chaos” as passengers try to cancel or re-book holidays, while dozens of airlines cancel flights to China and other COVID-19 coronavirus hotspots.
Cruise lines have barred passengers and crew from boarding ships if they have visited or transited through airports in China, Hong Kong, or Macau, or had contact with an infected person in the past 14 days, according to the Cruise Line International Association.
Some cruises have been cancelled outright while others have changed their embarkation points, leaving passengers scrambling to get to a different city to meet their ship, said travel agent Claire Newell.
Royal Caribbean Cruises cancelled 18 cruises this week, days after Norwegian cancelled or altered 40 cruises, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
Earlier this month, Carnival’s Diamond Princess was quarantined in Japan with more than 700 COVID-19-infected passengers aboard, while the Westerdam was denied entry at several ports with 3,700 healthy passengers aboard.
“Almost all of the major cruise lines have pulled out of Asian destinations at this point,” she said. “People are frustrated because they’ve changed the itinerary and they want their money back, but that’s not always an option.”
While most passengers on cancelled flights will get a full refund, those people who simply want to re-book or cancel a trip out of fear for their health may be out of pocket for some or all of the cost of their flights and hotels.
“From the customer’s perspective, the whole thing is overwhelming,” said Newell. “Every airline is different, every tour operator is different and every travel insurance policy is different, so it’s really difficult to know what’s covered and what’s not.”
Basic trip cancellation insurance usually kicks in when one of the travellers becomes ill, or there is a death in the family. A doctor’s note or death certificate is usually required.
Fear of becoming ill at the destination is not typically a valid reason for reimbursement, and disease outbreaks do not constitute an “Act of God” or a natural disaster for insurance purposes.
A newer product, Cancel for Any Reason insurance does cover costs associated with coronavirus outbreaks, according to insuremytrip.com.
Amid the chaos, there will be bargains to be had for brave travellers.
“We have couples come in and one is saying, ‘Oh my god, we can get a 17-day cruise to Australia right now for $779. We could never afford to do that before,’” Newell said. “The other spouse is sitting here going, ‘There’s no way I’m setting foot on a cruise ship.’”
Travel agents who have been through the fallout from 9/11, SARS and political unrest are well-prepared to deal with disruptions and they can explain the intricacies of different levels of insurance. Agents can also book passage back home if a trip is disrupted and help with the insurance claims process.
To help track COVID-19 infections, passengers arriving at Canadian airports and ports of entry must declare if they have been experiencing flu-like symptoms to Canadian Border Services Agency officers. Those passengers are assessed by quarantine officers.
New health screening questions have been added to the entry process. Passengers who have been to China’s Hubei province in the past two weeks are referred for additional examination. If they are not presenting symptoms are told to self-isolate and limit contact with others for 14 days from the date they left Hubei.
At least 24 airlines have cancelled all service to China, including British Airways, American Airlines, Air France, Air India and Delta. Cathay Pacific is cutting back its service to China by 90 per cent and is encouraging 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave. Korean Airlines has suspended eight routes to China and curtailed service on nine others.
Air Canada has extended its suspension of service to Beijing and Shanghai until at least April 10, but service to Hong Kong remains active. The Canadian carrier is also allowing passengers to re-book flights to parts of Italy at no charge.
People who bought air travel tickets directly from the airline must deal with the airlines themselves, and if they wish to change their plans cancellation and re-booking fees vary widely from airline to airline. Some airlines are allowing penalty-free re-bookings on flights purchased before a certain date.
Many hotel chains — including Four Seasons, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt — have offered guests the opportunity to cancel or re-book their rooms in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan without penalty.
Online travel booking site Expedia announced that it will lay off 3,000 employees because of the crippling downtown in business triggered by COVID-19.
Expedia Hong Kong is allowing customers to cancel hotel and flight bookings to Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan, the Philippines and Italy, but urged customers to use self-service tools due to the extraordinary volume of requests.