Volcanic Ash

The recent eruption of a volcano in Iceland has caused mayhem with British and European airspace. Due to ash being present in the atmosphere, the British and European aerospace is very often being closed causing a lot of flights to be cancelled.

Should I still book an overseas holiday?

The short answer is yes but where possible you should book your flight & hotel together as this will give you the added protection offered by our Atol. Because of this protection all of your booking will be protected and any cost associated with delays of more that 12 hours would be covered by us. If your holiday is cancelled due to a volcanic ash then a full refund would be offered and refunded back to your card within a matter of days. If you were already in resort then we would work with you in extending your hotel stay,  hopefully in the same hotel and on the same board level.

If you booked your flights independently then the airline would have to get you home as soon as possible but you would need to be able to pay for all the extra cost involved and claim this back once you return home. Please remember that “Low-cost” airlines don’t need to offer Atol protection but if you book a “Low-cost” flight with us as part of your holiday, then we will Atol bond the flight for you.

What to do if your holiday has been affected.

We have had many clients affected by the volcanic ash and we are working hard in helping everyone where and when we can. Unfortunately, events can change on a regular basis and where there may be no volcanic ash one day, there could be some the next. The best way for you to find out whether your flight will still go ahead is to visit the airlines website. All airlines are updating their websites regularly and as we are dealing with so many clients, we can not always get the latest news. We also only hear what you hear via various media sources.

Hotel accommodation only bookings:

If your flight has been cancelled and you only booked your hotel with us, please email us by filling this form in and add ‘volcanic ash’ to the subject line along with your booking reference. Most hotels are offering a 100% refund but some are seeking a small fee. Please bear in mind that hotels can not resell their rooms after a cancellation has taken place at very short notice and some are seeking a small cancellation fee to reduce their loss. Once we receive your notification of not being able to fly, we will contact the hotel and seek the cancellation costs. You will be notified once we have an answer but this could take up to a week due to the sheer  numbers involved.

Flight & Hotel (Holiday) Bookings:

If you booked your flight and hotel with us give yourself a pat on the back as your holiday will be ATOL protected. Please fill this contact form out and add ‘Volcanic ash ATOL claim’ to the subject line along with your booking reference. Please note that claims will take up to 2-3 months as there has been nearly 200.000 people affected so far and the list is getting longer. All claims will be dealt with in date order. Just for clarification,  if you booked your flight separately and then your hotel (but not at the same time), you will not be covered by our ATOL.

If you are stranded abroad. You will need to pay the hotel direct on a daily basis but please keep your receipts. If you are ATOL protected as explained above, please send your receipts to us at the below address and we will submit your ATOL claim to get your expenses back. Please try to stay at the same hotel and on the same board basis. If you can not, please try to stay at the same board and star level hotel.

Address:
Volcanic Ash
The Linden Travel Group
23 George Street
Helpringham
Sleaford
Lincolnshire
NG34 0RS

If you need anymore help, then please feel free to contact an agent on 0845 430 2004 and they will assist you.