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Eurostar and the virus

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StephenHunter

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Department of Health and Human Services in their case. It would have no effect on Eurostar operations - only a decision by the respective governments would do that - but it should allow for an American tourist to claim on their travel insurance.
 
SHD

SHD

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Effective Monday, France will close all schools and educational facilities - from daycare to universities.

In his address to the nation tonight, President Macron has invited French people to travel as little as possible. However, no service restrictions have been announced for public transport, although the closure of schools could cause disruption at many companies including public transportation operators (home office with kids is not particularly practical for a train driver).
 
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Gadget88

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Easy jet now offering exchanges

Eurostar messages this morning and still no change to there policy no refunds
 
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blackfive460

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FCO travel advice hasn't changed as yet:
Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice
The FCO is currently advising:

  • against all travel to Hubei Province, in China
  • against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China. If you’re in China and able to leave, you should do so. See the latest travel advice for China.
  • against all travel to the cities of Daegu, Cheongdo and Gyeongsan in South Korea. See the travel advice for South Korea
  • against all but essential travel to Italy. See the travel advice for Italy
We are not advising against travel to any other country/territory as a result of coronavirus risks.
Click to expand...

One useful change in the last few days is that those with non-refundable/exchangeable promotional Interrail passes can now get a change of date which, given the latest travel restrictions that are now starting to appear (Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia) could be helpful to some.
See this from myinterrail.co.uk:
COVID-19 Virus (Coronavirus) update...

Interrail by National Rail are in regular contact with the Eurail B.V. (who manage the Interrail Pass conditions) regarding the coronavirus sitiation. We care about our customers' travelling plans and will update on the situation as and when we receive information.
Latest Update:
  • All trains in Europe are currently running as normal, except for a few local connections in the Lombardy region in Italy where trains will run through without stopping. Please see the Trenitalia website for more information.
  • Always check the latest travel advice about COVID-19 in the countries you wish to travel to from your Government's website before you travel and comply with any instructions of the local authorities when travelling.
  • Refunds and exchanges are currently being applied as normal for regular passes and an exception has been made for customers with non-refundable Promotion Passes, who can now exchange for a later date. Customers will need to re-purchase a new pass and return theIr original one using the returns form, any difference in cost is payable by the customer.
  • Customers travelling to Northern Italy, the following statement has been issued by Eurail B.V.:
    • Eurail has decided to take the following steps to ensure the best possible experience for its customers.
      Customers who have a Eurail or Interrail Promotional Pass which is valid for travel in February and/or the beginning of March (up to and including March 15 2020), and who are traveling to or in the affected regions in Northern Italy can apply for a pass exchange or a refund. Travellers with a Promotional Pass applying for a pass exchange or a refund need to share proof of their (intended) trip to Northern Italy in the form of train reservations and/or hotel accommodations and/or proof of travel restrictions by the local authorities.
Click to expand...
 
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Alfonso

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Eurostar agents page also states their ticketing system is down for an "upgrade"this weekend. They may not want a deluge of ticket changes till after this work is complete.
 
30907

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In case you haven't spotted it, Eurostar are now offering a refund (in voucher form) against tickets for travel to 7 April.
 
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StephenHunter

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Gadget88

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Giving vouchers now but only upto 7th April surely things won’t be better by then? Should be longer
 
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Chester1

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Gadget88 said:
They are treating there customers badly being so unflexible though
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I think its just the start. They won't want to make decisions about after 7th April until a bit nearer the time. I have tickets booked for May and I would be surprised if I am not offered a voucher. While there are no travel warnings or bans between the destinations they serve they are not obliged to give refunds and would probably risk bankruptcy if they did. I know the government owners would bail them our but still not a good idea. Vouchers are a good compromise.
 
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AndrewE

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Chester1 said:
I think its just the start. They won't want to make decisions about after 7th April until a bit nearer the time. I have tickets booked for May and I would be surprised if I am not offered a voucher. While there are no travel warnings or bans between the destinations they serve they are not obliged to give refunds and would probably risk bankruptcy if they did. I know the government owners would bail them our but still not a good idea. Vouchers are a good compromise.
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Not good if you were going for a specific event or at a particular season. I have Easyjet tickets to Sicily for May but I don't think I want to go any nearer high summer! I would want my money back, especially if they are not offering the service anyway.
 
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Chester1

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AndrewE said:
Not good if you were going for a specific event or at a particular season. I have Easyjet tickets to Sicily for May but I don't think I want to go any nearer high summer! I would want my money back, especially if they are not offering the service anyway.
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If Easyjet cancel the service then you will get your money back. Easyjet is allowing people to rebook now. If they don't cancel the service and the Foreign Office continue to warn against all but essential travel to Sicily then you will be able to claim on your insurance.

Eurostar have started cancelling some services and people booked onto those services will get their money back. Its not reasonable to expect Eurostar to refund all tickets regardless of where and when they are for. I doubt they have the funds to do it. A voucher for future journeys is a reasonable compromise for people choosing not to travel for a while.
 
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StephenHunter

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Easyjet are allowing people to rebook... and if the ticket is more expensive, they'll have to pay for the difference...
 
LNW-GW Joint

LNW-GW Joint

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Jet2 has cancelled all its flights to Spain, involving turning current flights mid-journey.
This is because of the government closure of most retail/tourist facilities in Spain.
So a travel ban is becoming the de facto situation, even though there is not (yet) a specific ban on international transport.

PS Even so, I can see a number of Jet2 flights on flightradar still heading for Spanish destinations.
I guess these might be empty planes bringing folk back to the UK.
The Jet2 web site is silent on all this, with restrictions only posted for Italy, as per FCO advice.
Not directly rail relevant, but it is an indication of how travel options are reducing across Europe, and how operators are struggling to keep passengers informed with the rapid changes in policy.
 
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duesselmartin

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LNW-GW Joint said:
Jet2 has cancelled all its flights to Spain, involving turning current flights mid-journey.
This is because of the government closure of most retail/tourist facilities in Spain.
So a travel ban is becoming the de facto situation, even though there is not (yet) a specific ban on international transport.

PS Even so, I can see a number of Jet2 flights on flightradar still heading for Spanish destinations.
I guess these might be empty planes bringing folk back to the UK.
The Jet2 web site is silent on all this, with restrictions only posted for Italy, as per FCO advice.
Not directly rail relevant, but it is an indication of how travel options are reducing across Europe, and how operators are struggling to keep passengers informed with the rapid changes in policy.
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There is a lot in the news about planes flying empty so the airline will not loose their airport slots.
 
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miami

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duesselmartin said:
There is a lot in the news about planes flying empty so the airline will not loose their airport slots.
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That's changed -- for the next 3 months (ish, I forget exactly), all slots will be treated as flown for slot retention purposes.

With more and more airlines closing, I suspect eurostar may see people taking the train home. Not as much as in the Iceland volcano, but still a fair number
 
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