Mallorca issues ‘extreme risk’ warning as holiday companies insist normal terms apply for cancellations

Travel insurance unlikely to offer compensation for cancelled trips

As the build-up to the peak getaway weekend gets under way, holidaymakers heading for the favourite Spanish island destination, Mallorca, have been facing “extreme risk”.

Spain’s state meteorological office, Aemet, reported that temperatures hit 44.8C in Llubi, just north of the Balearic Island’s centre, on 18 July, with a thermal sensation of 48C.

The official rating was “extreme risk” for certain parts of Mallorca yesterday, although that has been downgraded to “important risk” for the centre and southwest of the island today between the hours of 12-8pm. Maximum temperatures in these areas are expected to reach 39C.

Elsewhere, the northwest and southeast of the isle are predicted to hit 38C.

Peak heat: Spanish Met Office warns of 43C temperatures in popular resorts (Spanish State Meteorological Office)

The Foreign Office has issued warnings of extreme temperatures for both Spain and Greece, where wildfires have been raging.

But the official UK advice stops short of warning against travel to these Mediterranean countries. As a result, there is no automatic right to curtail, cancel or change planned trips.

Holiday companies and airlines contacted by The Independent say normal terms and conditions apply.

Soaring temperatures in holiday hotspots are nothing new at this time of year, they argue, and some British holidaymakers happily travel to Dubai and Egypt’s Red Sea coast in July, where temperatures above 40C are the norm.

Under the Package Travel Regulations, holidaymakers can cancel for a refund “if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity which significantly affect the performance of the package or the carriage of passengers to the destination”.

But unless authorities issue instructions that make normal holiday activities impossible, it is difficult to see how the rule might apply during the heatwave.

Holidaymakers with a travel insurance policy in which a pre-existing health condition has been declared may have grounds to claim for a cancellation if they receive specific medical advice against travel to a very hot location.

Alternatively, the Package Travel Regulations may help you pass on the trip to a friend or family member.

A proper flight-plus-accommodation package can be transferred to someone else for a nominal fee of around £50 per person.

According to a leading travel industry figure, the extreme heat is not deterring holidaymakers.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, tweeted: “As the Met Office forecast a month of rain for the UK, is the heatwave across Europe slowing down the demand to travel this summer? Nope. The opposite.”