Customers cancelling flights because of coronavirus may not be covered
Consumers who cancel or rebook flights because of the Covid-19 outbreak could find themselves out of pocket unless there is a change in advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Currently, the only country it is advising people to avoid non-essential travel to is mainland China.
It has also advised Irish citizens not to travel to the ten Italian towns identified as travel risks by the Italian government: Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano.
It is expected that the number of areas on these lists will be expanded shortly.
However, until such time as these changes have been made, customers are unlikely to be covered if they choose not to use their flights.
This could be an issue for people who decided to cancel holidays in areas where cases are increasing, such as Tenerife, where a number of Irish nationals have already made contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
While guests in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, which was put into lockdown earlier this week to contain the spread of the virus, are now able to use hotel facilities such as the restaurants and swimming pool, they are not yet allowed to leave the grounds.
One guest, speaking on RTÉ's Liveline, said guests had been seen by doctors and the atmosphere remains calm, though guests are not receiving a large amount of information.
Other tourists in Tenerife have reported no disruption to their holidays.
But, despite fears about the potential spread of the virus, both Aer Lingus and Ryanair are operating all flights as normal.
The airlines said they will follow any public health instructions as they are issued.
Ryanair said that flights are non-refundable.
In a statement, the airline said: "There is currently no change to advice for airlines or customers from the Italian authorities and our flights are operating as normal."
Health authorities have not recommended the suspension of flights to Italy or Tenerife and the airlines have not decided to cancel flights, as many did to mainland China following the original outbreak there.
As there is no difficulty in travelling to affected areas, airlines are not obliged to offer any special assistance in terms of accommodating passengers who want to change or cancel flights.
Normal processes will apply if customers want to change their flights, including potential fees.
If flights are cancelled by airlines closer to the time, standard EU consumer protections kick in and customers should be offered a chance of re-routing or refunding, depending on the individual circumstance.
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) is not advising against travel.
In a statement, the ITAA said Irish holidaymakers should follow the advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs when travelling overseas.
It said prospective travellers should "be pragmatic" about their holiday bookings.
