Do I need insurance for my package trip to Rhodes?

Simon Calder answers your questions on wildfires in Greece, getting money back and avoiding union strikes

There’s always a chance of more wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes (AP)

Q I am going on a Tui package holiday to Rhodes at the end of August for a week. Because of the wildfire situation, is it a good idea to get travel insurance – or are you covered with Atol anyway?

Name supplied

A Good timing: at the end of August, the crowds of peak summer melt away from the Greek islands and much of the rest of the Mediterranean. The sea is at maximum warmth, which peaks in late August and early September. But the extreme heat on land – which was a contributing factor to the dreadful wildfires – has dissipated. And as I am sure you have discovered, the very high prices that have prevailed for the previous eight weeks fall significantly. If you booked late, then you may have got a particularly good deal for Rhodes.

The chances are you will have a carefree holiday. But what if another wildfire – or some other calamity – befalls the island? In terms of cancellation or curtailment of a package holiday, travel insurance is rarely relevant. The Package Travel Regulations put responsibility on the tour operator (the holiday company that put together the trip, in your case Tui). It is responsible for delivering the holiday as booked. If external events from wildfires to strikes make that impossible, the travel firm must sort out the issue and make financial amends proportionate to the loss of holiday.

Travel insurance may actually exclude cover for losses directly attributable to the wildfires in Rhodes, if the policy was taken out since the risk became known. Suppose an irresponsible traveller ventured into an area devastated by the flames and was injured: they might find they were not covered. You also mention Atol protection: this scheme applies only if the holiday company goes bust before or during your trip (take it from me, this will not happen in your case).

The other aspect of your question that I find interesting is that you appear to choose generally not to insure. This is a rational course of action for British travellers to the European Union, thanks to the reciprocal healthcare arrangements. But as I am sure you are aware, anything beyond treatment by the local equivalent of the NHS (for example an evacuation by air ambulance) is excluded, as is cover for theft, loss and other mishaps.

When Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena, no refunds were issued (PA)

Q Early in 2020 I went to St Helena for a holiday to see family. My flight off the island, to Johannesburg, was cancelled on 28 March 2020. I had booked through an online travel agent.

The governor of St Helena put on a special flight for UK citizens to get back to South Africa and eventually home. But I had to pay for another ticket from St Helena to Johannesburg, which cost £517.

For months I could not find anyone from the airline, Airlink, to provide a refund. I finally got hold of the chief executive of Airlink who agreed to refund me. But an administration fee was charged, and as a result I am nearly £100 out of pocket. Shouldn’t I get a full refund?

Helena T

A The short answer is: yes, you deserve a full refund. You paid money in advance, in good faith, for a service that could not be delivered. I am unsure about contract law in either St Helena or South Africa. But in the UK, generally, if a contract is “frustrated” – ie it cannot be fulfilled through no fault of either party – then any payment made should be refunded to the purchaser.

That is easy to say but extremely difficult to achieve. It was made more complicated in the case of anything involving South African Airways (SAA, with whom Airlink had a franchise agreement). SAA nearly collapsed during the Covid pandemic, leaving many creditors high and dry.

Your fortitude in fighting for a refund is commendable. As a result, you have done extremely well compared with millions of other travellers who have been chasing refunds after Covid cancellations (including me). In comparison to them, you are in a strong position, having received over 80 per cent of your money back.

Where did the remainder go? I speculate that the online travel agent you involved has retained the cash. Airlink paid perhaps £40 or £50 in commission to the agent, and presumably was not minded to refund money it had handed on. Also, it is regrettably lawful for agents to withhold a fee for administering a refund – possibly about the same amount.

I suggest you write it off, and instead feel cheerful about having retrieved so much of your money in difficult circumstances.

Unions have hinted that industrial action at London Gatwick could be on the horizon (Simon Calder)

Q On Friday 25 August I am booked to fly from Belfast to London Gatwick. With the unions striking that day, should I seek an alternative London airport?

Nick R

A I am not surprised that you have concerns: for weeks the Unite union has been putting out strike announcements that speak of “severe disruption throughout Gatwick airport”. The union represents staff working for ground handlers: the companies that run check-in, aircraft dispatch and baggage loading and unloading.

The most recent warning concerned industrial action planned by Unite members employed by Red Handling. This is a relatively small company that looks after a handful of Gatwick’s less-prominent airlines: Norwegian. Norse Atlantic, TAP Portugal and Saudia. A strike planned for this current weekend was called off when a much-improved pay offer was made. Staff are voting on whether to accept the deal, and I fully expect next weekend’s walk-out to be cancelled too – though news will not come through until Thursday 24 August.

If I am wrong, and the strike goes ahead, you should not fret for a moment about your journey. You (I infer) are flying on easyJet, which is handled by DHL. Unite threatened a strike there, too, but it was called off after a pay rise. While the union is clearly winning good pay awards for its members, the constant dire warnings of delays and cancellations have a corrosive effect on travellers’ confidence – and, as your question shows, causes unnecessary anxiety among people planning to use Gatwick airport.

One final note about your trip: easyJet has not had the best of summers, and plenty of flights to and from Gatwick have been cancelled at short notice. If that happens to you, easyJet must get you to London on the same day if at all possible. If easyJet does not have suitable alternative flights itself, the airline must buy you a seat on British Airways from Belfast City to London Heathrow if one is available.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder