TUI has cancelled holidays to a number of amber and red list countries until the end of June due to "ongoing uncertainty" around travel to these destinations.
The holidays giant has announced cancellations for nine destinations up to and including June 27, across both amber and red lists.
Amber list cancellations are Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, and red list cancellations are to Cape Verde and Turkey.
All customers impacted by these cancellations will be contacted directly and will be able to request a full cash refund, or to change to a later date or alternative holiday and receive a booking incentive.
The company has said that those affected by the cancellations will be contacted and offered a number of options including a full refund, or rebooking to a later date with "a booking incentive".
TUI has said it will only offer holidays to countries where borders are open, and where the Foreign Office advice allows for travel.
For example, the Foreign Office continues to advise against non-essential travel to amber list destinations including Spain and Greece, so TUI is currently not operating holidays to these destinations. (The exception being the Canary Islands which, although they are on the amber list, the Foreign Office does not advise against travel there).
TUI also has a flexible amends policy, so if you book a holiday and the destination is placed on the amber list (where you need to self-isolate at home in the UK), you can amend your booking for free. This also applies if you book a green list destination but this is later moved to a green watchlist/amber list.
The UK government has urged Brits not to travel for holidays to amber list destinations. However, that didn't stop thousands of Brits from flocking to Spain on Monday when the country reopened to UK travellers, despite it being on the amber list.
However there are risks if you disregard the official advice - one of the biggest being that your travel insurance will most likely be invalidated. (We have a wider guide on amber list travel rules where you can find more information).
Full TUI statement
"We want to offer our customers flexibility and choice this summer, so where borders are open and FCDO advice allows travel, we will operate to those destinations as planned. We are constantly reviewing our holiday programme and cancellations in line with the Government updates every three weeks, with the next update due in early June.
"Due to ongoing uncertainty, we have unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to the following Red and Amber destinations up to and including 27th June: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Turkey, Egypt, Cape Verde, Morocco, Tunisia and Bulgaria.
"All customers impacted by these cancellations will be contacted directly and will be able to request a full cash refund, or to change to a later date or alternative holiday and receive a booking incentive.
"If we need to cancel any future holidays because of updated Government guidance, we will be in touch with you directly and will aim to give you at least 7 days’ notice. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time."
You can also find out more information and see the latest updates on the TUI website here.
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