When flying with the family I have a few anxieties, needless to say the current position across the world is not helping me at all. We have booked flights to Dubai and we are staying with friends and yes, we have travel insurance. But I am still full of fear. I thought writing out my worries and how I have overcome them may help other families in similar positions. 

If my flight is cancelled will I get my money back? 

I have never thought about whether my flight would be cancelled before this year. What with the virus spreading across the world and Countries having to decide if they cancel flights, events and general day to day activities. Researching into flight cancelled compensation has been a great help as it has let me park some of the fears for the moment. Obviously, I will be devastated if we do not make it out to Dubai, but if we do it is good to know that we will be covered with companies like AirHelp offering advice. 

How will I know if my flight is cancelled? 

Our current airline, British Airways, have been really supportive so far. They have given me a link to check that has their most up to date information and they have said if our flights are cancelled, they will call us personally. This is such a relief. I check the website every day, it’s all I can think about, but it’s a comfort to know I will get a phone call if there is a problem. The link for travel information with British Airways is dedicated to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

How can I check what is going on in the Country I am travelling to?

On the BBC News, I am getting daily information about the UK and updates on what is going on. Also, we get major updates about what is going on across the world. But I have had no mention of Dubai. I know that all Dubai schools have been closed for 4 weeks (they have brought their Easter break forward by a month). You can see this kind of information on the gov.uk website they have a Foreign Travel Advice page which is really useful. I have never looked at it before and it is really clear. 

Can I move my flights? 

I think this is very dependent on the airline you are using and what their policies are. I have read on the British Airways pages that they have removed the change fee for customers that wish to re-arrange their flights. I also saw that people due to be flying to Hong Kong or Italy can now re-arrange their flights for after certain dates. If you had a flight to Hong Kong you cannot rebook this until after May 2020 and Italy until after 15 March 2020. 

It’s such a scary time and lots of people are asking me if we are still going to be flying with the family. My opinion is that yes, we will. Firstly, we are staying with friends, not in a hotel, so our contact with strangers that do not wash their hands will be minimal. We are also as likely to pick up the virus here in the UK as much as we are overseas. If we continue to wash our hands properly then we should be OK. I might buy masks for our flights but that’s about it. 

If you have any information or ideas about flying with the family over the next few months, I would love to know in the comments below or on social media: @mummyconstant. 

What do you think?

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7 Comments
  • Karen Radford
    Sunday, March 8, 2020

    Thank you for sharing these useful links for up-to-date info. I think all you can do is monitor the situation regularly and heed the current advice (from reliable sources!)

  • Sarah Mathieson
    Monday, March 9, 2020

    This is going to be useful for me and my family as we are due to go on holiday to Italy(!) in the May half-term, I’m hoping we’ll be able to go but will have to wait and see nearer the time.

  • ROCHELLE LEAR
    Friday, May 22, 2020

    Thanks for the information as our holiday was cancelled too and we still haven’t had a penny back!

  • Susan Smith
    Tuesday, June 23, 2020

    Our holiday was cancelled, we are trying for a refund, so these tips are very useful, thank you

  • Vivien Baird
    Saturday, December 12, 2020

    Some great advice

  • Eva Lorraine Appleby
    Tuesday, April 27, 2021

    Thank you for sharing your experiences