Air Transat has confirmed it will only refund the outbound element of flights between the UK and Canada cancelled as a result of Covid-19.
The Canadian airline is offering travel credit on the return segment of journeys – from Canada to the UK – with no expiry dates.
It said the decision was taken as a result of its interpretation of the EU airline refund regulations, which it claims does not mean it has to provide cash refunds for flights from airports outside the EU – but only for flights departing from airports in member states.
A spokesperson said: “We are providing refunds for cancelled outbound flights that were due to operate from the UK to Canada.
“As the circumstances are totally beyond our control, we consider it reasonable to offer a travel credit for the return sector from Canada to the UK.
“Our interpretation of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 is that we are obliged to provide refunds for flights that would have departed from member states, but not from airports located outside the EU.
“We have also increased the flexibility of our travel credit policy so that all tickets are now fully transferable and have no expiry date.”