Getting stranded is never fun. Policies with regards to border closures and travel bans are rapidly changing because of the coronavirus outbreak. Here are some steps you can take if you find yourself stuck in a foreign country and you can’t get back to South Africa.
Keep up to date on travel changes
The International Air Transport Association provides updated information on international travel restrictions and immigration requirements. Also check the airline that you’ve booked with or plan to book with for its updated cancellation policies.
When your flight gets cancelled
The first step is to contact your airline. Most airlines are obliged to get you to your destination under the contract of carriage. Often flights will be rebooked on the next available flight at no extra cost.
If you are stuck at an airport, use the airline’s app or call centre service to find another flight rather than standing in a long queue at the airline desk.
If your flight is cancelled and the airline that you’ve booked with has suspended its service to the area you need to get to, check to see if another carrier is flying to your destination and has space to accommodate you and then request that the original airline covers the cost.
If your flight is delayed for an extended period or cancelled you could approach the airline and request food and/or accommodation vouchers. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get these but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
When looking for new flights from the airport, Google Flights is a great way to get real-time information on flights.
Where to stay
If you are forced to quarantine yourself at your hotel or guest house, speak to the managers or owners about offsetting the costs of your unintended stay. If you have family or friends in the city, reach out to them for support. Local knowledge could be invaluable. It also helps to have friendly voices to chat to, even if you are unable to meet face to face. This is especially true if there is a language barrier in the country you find yourself in. If you don’t have friends or family of your own in that city, reach out to your friends via social media and see if they have friends nearby who may be willing to give you some advice.
Try not to spend all your money
When travelling abroad it’s not unusual to get to the end of a holiday or family visit having spent more than you anticipated. With these trips being costly, it isn’t always easy to make sure that you have money left over. However, being thrifty throughout your trip may save you a headache later. If you haven’t booked your accommodation yet, consider staying somewhere more modest and keep the savings for the rainy day that you hope won’t affect you.
Also read: Local airlines confirm special coronavirus policies
Before leaving:
Take extra essentials
Make sure that you pack additional medication, at least an extra month’s supply (just in case), and anything else that you know you know is vital if your stay is prolonged.
Make sure you have comprehensive travel insurance
Chat to a policy broker to make sure that emergency medical and emergency travel costs are covered, no matter where you are travelling to.
Extra notes:
If you’ve booked flights through FlightCentre
FlightCentre issued a press release on 17 March reassuring clients that their travel experts keep up to date with cancellation and rebooking policies. Andrew Stark, MD of Flight Centre Travel Group Middle East and Africa says, ‘Our top priority, as always, is to assist our customers, based on our travel expertise and the relationship we have with suppliers internationally, to re-accommodate any travel plans that need to be changed in the short term as this situation continues to evolve.’
Flight Centre urges affected customers to contact their travel expert swiftly with any questions or concerns.
‘Our Travel Experts have the latest information on cancellation and rebooking policies and can assist customers with rescheduling their travel. It is essential that you look to official sources of information in these uncertain times and do not share or act on information that has not been verified by an expert.’
Visit FlightCentre.co.za for information on coronavirus, related questions and travel advice.
If you’ve booked flights through TravelStart
Travelstart will prioritise customers travelling within the next 72 hours, because of large volumes of enquiries. If travel that you’ve booked is outside of this period, the company suggests that you monitor the situation via the information page and contact them closer to your travel dates.
If you would like to keep your ticket open within the validity-suspension: [email protected]
If you would like to change the dates of your booking: [email protected]
For cancellations: [email protected]
Image: Unsplash
