Did you know . . .

THIS summer, wildfires have burned out of control in California and Greece. Leading travel insurance comparison website, Squaremouth, says whether your home or travel destination is in the fire's path, travel insurance may be able to help. But before buying a policy, here are 3 things travelers don't know about coverage for wildfires, but should.

1. Cause of the fire determines coverage - Most Trip Cancellation-style travel insurance policies will reimburse you if a natural disaster, such as a wildfire, prevents you from taking your trip as planned. However, travelers may not be aware that the original cause of the fire can dictate if this coverage is available.

In general, travel insurance policies consider a "natural disaster" something that occurred "due to natural causes". Meaning, if arson or other human error is to blame, the event may not be considered a "natural disaster", and coverage may not be available at all.

2. Cutoff date for getting coverage can be complicated - In order to have travel insurance coverage for any event, a policy must be purchased before the event occurs. Unfortunately for natural disasters like wildfires, and other events under investigation, it can be difficult to pinpoint the date it first occurred. As a general rule, travelers should remember that by the time an event is in the news and commonly known, it is too late to buy a travel insurance policy for any coverage related to that event.

3. Coverage available if home is in danger - Most travelers associate travel insurance coverage with a problem at their destination, however most don't know coverage can be available if your home is affected. Most Trip Cancellation-style policies cover travelers whose residence becomes uninhabitable or inaccessible by a natural disaster, such as a wildfire. This benefit covers the cost for the traveler to cancel their trip, or return home early, as well as any unused expenses due to the early return.


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Not up in the air . . .

RYANAIR, announced on September 15 that it would cancel 40-50 flights daily for the next six weeks (to the end of October) to improve its system-wide punctuality which has fallen below 80% in the first two weeks of September.

Through a combination of ATC capacity delays and strikes, weather disruptions and the impact of increased holiday allocations to pilots and cabin crew as the airline moves to allocate annual leave during a 9 month transition period.

By reducing its scheduled flying programme over the next six weeks by less than 2% (of its over 2,500 daily flights), the airline will create additional standby aircraft which will help restore on-time performance to its 90% average.

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Up in the air . . .

FLYBE has confirmed that it will cancel its Liverpool service to Amsterdam at the end of March.

The route was launched in September, but the airline said demand was insufficiently strong.

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Thomas Cook cancels Tunisian summer bookings

THOMAS COOK has cancelled all bookings to #Tunisia up to and including October 31 following the decision by the government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office not to revise the current travel warnings about the country.

In a statement, the company said: ‘We appreciate that this may be frustrating for our customers who have been looking forward to their holiday and we would like to assure them that we are doing our upmost to ensure they are still able to enjoy a Thomas Cook holiday by offering the following options:

• Customers who are due to travel up to and including October 31 2016 are able to cancel or amend their holiday to another destination free of charge. 

• Customers who wish to re-book an alternative summer 2016 holiday are being offered free amendments to an alternative Thomas Cook holiday of their choice, paying only any difference in price. 

• Customers booking a new holiday departing before October 31 will be offered a £30 per person discount regardless of whether the alternative is cheaper or more expensive.’ 

Thomas Cook said it was individually contacting customers whose bookings are affected, prioritizing those due to travel soonest.

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Thomson scraps Tunisia summer programme

THOMSON has confirmed the cancellation of all of its Tunisian holidays for summer 2016. The operator is offering refunds to people with bookings to the North African country.

Thirty three of parent company Tui Group’s holidaymakers were killed in the beach terrorist attack near Sousse in June last year.

Thomson said: ‘As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) continues to advise against all but essential travel to #Tunisia, Thomson Airways can confirm the cancellation of further outbound flights from the UK to Tunisia, up to and including October 31. Customers affected by this will be able to change their holiday to any of our destinations currently on sale, without incurring an amendment fee, or receive a full refund.’

The operator is offering a £30 discount if the new holiday departs on or before October 31 provided it is booked by February 29.

The discount will apply regardless of whether the alternative holiday is cheaper or more expensive, the company said.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88475677@N00/11399706034">Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)