HOLIDAYMAKERS with trips booked to Greece have had their holiday plans thrown into doubt due to changing travel advice.
We explain what help Tui, Love Holidays, Lastminute, On the Beach and Teletext holidays are offering and whether you can get a refund.
The government has today added seven Greek islands to its UK quarantine list, including Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos.
It means anyone travelling back to the UK from any of these destinations must quarantine for 14 days, starting from 4am this Wednesday, September 9.
The news was confirmed today by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today, who said: “Greece remains within our travel corridor programme, but our new analysis shows that some of the islands are well outside of the parameters.”
The whole of Greece was already placed on the quarantine list on September 1 by the Scottish government.
HERE'S a full list of the countries you can currently visit (as of September 2) without needing to quarantine on your return to the UK:
Mainland Greece currently remains off the England and Wales list, although Boris Johnson is facing pressure to follow suit and make self-isolation mandatory for English holidaymakers too.
The shake-up has left many passengers no longer wanting to fly, although many holiday firms are continuing to operate as normal.
Currently, quarantine measures exist for UK passengers returning from countries including Croatia, France, and Spain.
We explain what the latest quarantine rules mean for you below.
Tui travellers can cancel their trip and get a full refund, or they can ask to amend their travel dates.
If you decide to rebook and the new trip is more expensive, keep in mind that you’ll have to cover the price difference yourself.
You can find different ways of contacting Tui on its website here, but keep in mind its customer service centres are likely to be extremely busy.
Tui previously told The Sun that it has cancelled trips to the Zante resort of Laganas in Greece from September 3 onwards.
This means if you had a trip booked to Laganas, you’ll be able to get a full cash refund.
Tui told The Sun last week that its other resorts in Greece are operating as normal.
We’re checking if its Greece holidays will still be going ahead now and we’ll update this article when we know more.
LoveHolidays previously told The Sun that if customers wish to cancel their trip, but their holiday is still going ahead, that “normal cancellation terms would apply”.
This means if your flight is still going ahead, it’s likely you won’t be entitled to a refund.
The holiday firm says on its website that flight change options and refunds for cancellations are subject to individual airline policies.
It adds that some airlines are offering customer vouchers or the option to amend bookings, but not all of them.
Travellers who have a trip booked to Greece, but no longer want to travel, should contact the holiday firm to discuss their options.
You can find details on how to contact Love Holidays here.
If your flight is cancelled, you’ll receive a refund within five days of Love Holidays receiving this from the airline.
To change the dates of your stay or cancel a hotel reservation, go to “manage my booking” on the Love Holidays website and check your options.
Love Holidays hasn’t yet confirmed whether customers can do this for free and get a full refund, so we’ll update this article once we hear back.
If your Lastminute trip has been cancelled, you’ll be able to get a cash refund or credit voucher.
The vouchers will be valid for summer 2021, meaning you have plenty of time to find suitable dates for your trip.
In previous circumstances where Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) advice has changed, holidaymakers with a package holiday booked have been entitled to a refund if they decide to cancel.
If you’ve booked flights only through the travel agent, you will only be able to get your money back if the airline cancels the journey.
We’re checking if this is the case with mainland Greece and the Greek islands.
Cancellation fees depend on the individual terms and conditions of your booking so you’ll need to check in the small print to find out how much it will cost you.
Lastminute says it’ll notify you of these fees before you proceed.
If your holiday is cancelled, you have the right to a full cash refund.
Holidaymakers requesting refunds for hotel stays should get the money within two to four weeks, according to the On the Beach website.
It warns that flight cancellation refunds may take longer though, as the holiday firm has to receive the money back from the airline first.
If your flight is still going ahead, then you’re unlikely to be offered a refund.
On the Beach told The Sun it’s unable to offer change of date requests as standard and added that these may incur an additional fee if flight and hotel prices have changed.
Currently, if the hotel is still open and airline flights are still operating, it’s also unable to offer full refunds.
However, a spokesperson said it tries to be as flexible as possible by giving customers the option to cancel their holiday and get a refund of all the money it holds (hotel and transfer costs).
Unfortunately, as airlines typically won’t refund money for flights if they still operate, this cost is non-refundable.
If your holiday has been cancelled, you can either get a full cash refund or rebook the trip for later this year or 2021 for free.
Travel firm Teletext Holidays says refunds should take less than 14 days to process, and you can find the date within your cancellation email.
For existing bookings, teletext holidays has removed all the fees it’d usually charge if you want to amend or cancel a booking up to seven days prior to departure.
Just keep in mind that some suppliers and airlines may pass on extra charges as per their own booking conditions, but Teletext Holidays says it’ll advise you of these when you contact the firm.
The firm hasn’t yet confirmed whether customers will get a refund if they cancel their trip, so we’ll update this article once we hear back.
We explain your refund rights for your holiday to Greece as Scotland imposes quarantine rules on holidaymakers.
