Jetset unveils 14-day refund policy for cancelled flights amid Middle East conflict

Jetset has decided to process flight-only refunds within 14 days, rather than making travellers wait a “seismic” length of time for airlines to act, in a bid to ease re-booking amid the Middle East conflict.

Adrian Smyth, the tour operator’s sales director, told a Travel Weekly webcast that the company’s senior leadership decided to match the timeline that applies to cancelled package bookings.

“There are people who do still want to travel and want to rebook, but if they’re waiting a seismic amount of time [for a refund], that really impacts their ability,” he said. 

“This is a little thing we can do that, hopefully, makes a big difference in certain quarters.”

Aspire Travel agent Amy Richardson, based in Cambridge, said the temporary policy would be a “massive help”.

When the US-Iran conflict escalated at the end of February, prompting severe travel disruption, particularly for those in and transiting through the Gulf, Richardson’s colleague Libby Tucker was on holiday with her family in Dubai.

“She had her little girl with her, so she was in mum mode and autopilot. And then when she got back to work, she [fully realised] what happened and what went on,” Richardson said. “But she’s [well] and she’s not been put off travelling.”

In addition to Tucker’s group, consisting of 12 people, Aspire Travel also had five affected clients in Australia and a further two returning from Thailand via Dubai.

Inspire Europe chief executive Lisa Henning said the business had more than 150 clients in Dubai when the conflict escalated, as well as a further 200 affected travellers elsewhere.

“We worked around the clock and had everyone back from all destinations within eight days,” she said.