3 Air Travel Nightmares That Travel Insurance Doesn't Cover

EACH day in the USA millions of travelers are navigating airports, filing through security lines and hoping to board their flight seamlessly. However, not every trip goes as planned. Leading travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, reviews three common air travel nightmares that travel insurance doesn't cover.

The Neverending Security Line - While travelers may aim to arrive early, sometimes security lines can be long, especially during holidays and peak travel times. Missing a flight because of a long security line is not covered by travel insurance.

What can be covered: If a traveler misses their flight due to a traffic accident on the way to the airport there may be travel insurance coverage on some policies. Travel insurance providers will require official documentation of the accident during the claims process.

The Overbooked Flight - Often unbeknown to travelers, airlines overbook flights on a regular basis. If an airline 'bumps' a traveler from a flight because it's full, they will often provide a voucher. However, a voucher for future travel doesn't always help if a traveler has a connecting flight or cruise that they will miss. Any penalties incurred as a result of being bumped from an overbooked flight aren't covered by travel insurance.

What can be covered: If a flight is delayed due to a mechanical failure or bad weather, travel insurance can pay travelers back for their meals, hotel accommodations and local transportation during their delay. If the flight is cancelled or delayed for a significant amount of time, some travel insurance providers can allow the traveler to cancel their trip get their money back.

Flights Paid With Frequent Flyer Miles - While travel insurance can provide coverage in many different situations, it can't pay back reward points or frequent flyer miles, because there is no dollar value to associate with the points.

What can be covered: Taxes and fees associated with the air miles or reward points may be covered. Some providers will also cover fees to rebank miles.

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British tourists welcome increased security measures in France

FOLLOWING the announcement that some beaches in #France will be patrolled by armed police and that holidaymakers have been banned from taking large bags on to the beach in Cannes, research suggests that one third of British people planning a summer #holiday this year welcome these increased security measures.

Almost 90% of respondents in a survey by Travelzoo do not believe increased security measures this summer will impact their holiday negatively, and over one third think the UK should follow France's lead and adopt similar measures at beaches and tourist spots in Britain.

The research also found that 50% of respondents would be prepared to pay at least 5% more for their breaks if it meant extra security, with one fifth saying they would pay as much as 10% or 15% more.

‘Over 17 million British tourists visit France every year, so it is extremely important for the country to demonstrate that everything is being done to protect tourists on beaches and in public places,’ said Louise Hodges, head of Communications at Travelzoo.

‘While one quarter of those surveyed say armed police on beaches could be off-putting, over a third are in favour of these new security measures, and half are prepared to pay extra for more security on holiday. This is significant as, post-Brexit, holidays in Europe this summer will feel more expensive, given the drop in the value of the pound against the euro.

‘Our research shows that long-time favourites Spain and France remain the top destinations for this summer, so it's reassuring to learn that these recent changes in security are not putting British tourists off.’

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Risks in Rio

AS #BRAZIL prepares for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games (August 5-21) and Paralympic Games (September 7-18), there are growing concerns about multiple security challenges facing the country. 

A developing political crisis, economic downturn, and popular anger over corruption have fuelled rising civil unrest. Criminal activity is a major concern in many parts of #RiodeJaneiro, while Brazil’s status as a global hub for cyber-crime represents a further threat for corporate sponsors and companies represented at the Games. The recent outbreak of the Zika virus has also alarmed some travellers and pregnant visitors have been advised against non-essential travel to areas where the disease is prevalent.

With an effective understanding of the threat environment, areas to avoid, and proper planning, these risks can be mitigated. PGI Intelligence’s latest Risk Assessment for the #2016Olympics provides in-depth analysis of these issues, offering security and travel managers a comprehensive assessment of the risks associated with travel to Rio. Included in the report are:

• Detailed analysis and mapping of hotspots for crime and civil unrest risks and threats to movement during the Games 
• Analysis of cyber-crime threats 
• Information on medical risks and healthcare providers, as well as standards of infrastructure and transport options in the city 
• A one-page pre-deployment travel briefing, highlighting key travel considerations and ‘keep safe’ advice that can be handed to travellers prior to departing for Brazil. 

For a look inside the report, go to: https://riskportal.pgitl.com/sites/default/files/PGI_Olympics_Risk_Assessment_SHORT_April_2016.pdf

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How to stay REALLY safe in Rio

WITH the #Rio #Olympics only months away, South America is gearing up to host tourists, some of whom might have concerns about their #safety in what Brazil Bodyguard Protection (BBP) says is notorious as one of the world’s most dangerous destinations. 

A recent survey by Mexico City’s Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice found that 43 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are in Latin America, including 19 in Brazil. According to the US-based International Women’s Travel Centre, Brazil is one of the ten worst countries in the world for female travellers. This reputation was reinforced during Brazil’s 2014 World Cup, which was marred by violence and petty crime.

‘Unfortunately, the energy and atmosphere that goes hand-in-hand with global events such as the upcoming Olympic Games isn’t without its risks, ‘says Marcelo Silva, founder of BBP. ‘When Rio opens up its gates as 2016’s host country, the streets will unquestionably become more dangerous. For travellers who want to dive head first into the celebrations without worrying about personal safety, our service is ideal.

‘Brazil and its neighbouring Latin American countries are incredible places, but it would be naïve to romanticize the region as a destination that’s just as safe as its Western counterparts. Our service exists to help both private and corporate travellers experience everything the region has to offer, without the lingering shadow of safety concerns.’

For those wanting to enjoy the Olympic Games with the total peace of mind that their back is covered at every corner, says the company, a personal bodyguard is a must. Its English- and Portuguese-speaking bodyguards in Rio are armed … legally!

www.brazilbodyguardprotection.com

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Terrorist attacks drive changes to holiday plans for British tourists

‘Egypt, Turkey, and Greece are the main destinations to suffer from the drop in confidence in the region’

FEARS that terrorist attacks would have an impact on the British travel market have been confirmed by travel management software specialists Multicom.

The Bristol-based online travel software business, recently acquired by Swedish firm Paxport, reported that sales in January showed a decrease in bookings for the Eastern Mediterranean of 40% year-on-year.

Egypt, Turkey, and Greece are the main destinations to suffer from the drop in confidence in the region, reports Multicom. In the same period, bookings to Western European destinations including the Balearics, mainland Spain, and Portugal have noticeably picked up and appear to be the beneficiaries of the downturn further east.

Some holidaymakers are making later decisions about their overseas trips, with bookings for breaks within 30 days before departure increasing.

Multicom’s Chris Nourse said: ‘British holidaymakers are clearly taking a more cautious approach when planning their holidays this year. Over the years, they have shown they can be very resilient when faced with the threat of disruption to their travel plans or an increased risk to their safety for whatever reason. However, the increased threat of terrorism in light of recent events in Tunisia and Sharm-el-Sheikh and the appalling attacks closer to home in Paris have noticeably heightened concern among consumers.

‘We can already see the impact on bookings made through FindandBook, and we expect confidence will be slower to return than we have witnessed previously. It is likely that the continuing threat will affect the balance for the longer term this time round.’

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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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Egypt to invest millions in security at Hurghada and Sharm

#EGYPT is putting more security staff, sniffer dogs, CCTV cameras, and X-ray machines in its Red Sea resorts to improve security for holidaymakers. The country's government is to spend more than £22 million on the measures in Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada in an attempt to win back tourists.  

Visitor numbers have plummeted since a number of terror attacks, a plane crash in the Sinai, and political instability. 

The country’s #tourism minister Hisham Zaazou said the measures would bring tourist security to a higher level. Be he told the Daily Telegraph that the measures would not make visitors feel overly-guarded and that there would be a good balance between feeling safe and enjoying a holiday. 

The latest scanning equipment and additional security personnel will monitor key points around hotels, including access from the sea. CCTV cameras at hotels will be linked to government security control rooms. Better security will also be installed at major archaeological and tourism sites, including the temples at Luxor.

Flights from the UK have been suspended to Sharm el Sheikh since November over fears that a Russian jet, which crashed in the Sinai just after leaving the resort's airport, was brought down by a bomb. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed all 224 on board. Russia has since stopped all flights to Egypt. 

Although UK flights have been stopped to Sharm, the UK government is not advising against visiting the resort. 

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Metal detectors go up at the Magic Kingdom

ALL three major #Orlando #themeparks have installed metal detectors at their entry gates, the Orlando Sentinel reports. 

Walt Disney World would not say how long its metal detectors would be in place. SeaWorld said it had installed the devices as part of improved security for the holidays. Universal Orlando said it was testing them as guests approach the theme parks.

Security in general has been a major concern following the recent terrorist murders attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. At #Disney, last weekend a man was arrested by police officers who said he had attempted to take a gun into the Magic Kingdom.

Disney World is also discontinuing the sale of toy guns and banning people 14 and older from wearing costumes – even at Halloween parties. More deputies and security guards have been visible at the resort, and guard dogs have been seen in key areas. 

Disneyland in California, too, will get the devices.

‘We continually review our comprehensive approach to security and are implementing additional security measures as appropriate,’ Disney said in a statement.

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said in an e-mail: ‘We want our guests to feel safe when they come here. We've long used metal detection for special events, such as Halloween Horror Nights. This test is a natural progression for us as we study best practices for security in today's world.’ 

SeaWorld said in an e-mail it would be ‘enhancing security measures for the busy holiday season, including increased security presence both inside and outside the parks’.
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BA follows easyJet by cancelling Sharm flights until new year

BRITISH AIRWAYS has followed easyJet in cancelling all flights from the UK to #Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, until the new year. 

All BA flights to the Egyptian Red Sea resort have been suspended up to and including January 14 – a week longer than easyJet.

BA said: ‘Following advice from the UK government concerning flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh, we are cancelling services to from the resort until we receive further re-assurance about the security situation at the airport.

‘Customers who were due to travel on these services will be contacted and can claim a full refund, a re-book to a later date, or the opportunity to switch to an alternate destination.’

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FCO urges Brits to 'exercise caution' following Paris murders

A THREE-DAY period of mourning is under way in #France after a series of terrorist attacks in the country’s capital killed 129 people and injured hundreds.

Following the massacre, France’s government declared a state of emergency and Britain’s #Foreign&CommonwealthOffice (FCO) advised UK nationals to ‘exercise caution in public places’.

It added: ‘French authorities have heightened security measures due to a risk of further attacks. The advice of the Paris Police is currently to keep movement around town to a minimum. Systematic border control checks have been implemented at all entry points into France.’

Attractions and monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, closed over the weekend, as did Disneyland Paris, which will remain closed until Wednesday.

Responding to the tragedy, a number of other travel companies issued statements and advice:

Airlines, Eurostar, and Disneyland Paris were all offering flexibility for customers booked to travel over the weekend.Flybe said it would continue to accommodate customers following the attacks and on Sunday issued a further statement that it was extending its flexibility for a further two days for those who wished to change their travel plans.The statement said: ‘Any customer who is booked to travel to Paris on Monday or Tuesday and who doesn’t wish to now do so may re-book a later date to any alternative destination or obtain a credit note for future travel.’

BMI Regional is also offering customers flying between Bristol and Paris the option to re-schedule or cancel future flights to the French capital.

Eurostar advised passengers to check in 60 minutes before departure. Security was increased across all departure points.

P&O Ferries: ‘We would like to re-assure all our customers that we maintain a safe, reliable, and secure service to/from France. Due to adverse weather conditions some services are subject to delay of up to 20 minutes. Please check in as normal.’

DFDS Seaways: ‘Please allow extra time for your journey and expect increased security checks, Dover-Dunkirk-Dover services are operating to the advertised schedule with space currently available. Dover-Calais-Dover services are operating with around 60 minutes delays due to weather conditions in the channel.’

Brittany Ferries: ‘At present, our ships continue to operate as normal. There may be some additional security checks but at present check-in times remain unchanged.’

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle: ‘Our service is operating as planned. However, due to reinforced border checks, customers travelling should allow extra time.’

easyJet: ‘Our schedule will operate as normal. However we would advise that all passengers due to fly with us check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker page at www.easyjet.com/en/flight-trackerfor real-time information before going to the airport and to allow extra time for security checks due to the reinforced security measures in place. easyJet will continue to comply with all recommendations and guidance from the French authorities."

British Airways: ‘We continue to monitor the situation in Paris after attacks in the city on Friday.The French government has asked for extra security checks at all airports in the country, and this may lead to delays to flights from France.’

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Flight booking data reveals impact of Tunisia terrorist attack

THE full extent of the slump in flight bookings and cancellations to #Tunisia after two major terrorist attacks this year is revealed in data published by ForwardKeys, which monitors #travel patterns by analyzing 14 million reservation transactions each day. 

The analysis shows that weekly international bookings fell by 44.7% compared with the same period in 2014 following the museum attack in Tunis on March 18. Bookings fell by 42.2% after the beach massacre near Sousse on June 26, which killed 38 tourists including 30 British holidaymakers. 

The attacks prompted a fall in bookings across a range of countries. The most marked slumps were seen in Switzerland, which recorded more cancellations than bookings.

ForwardKeys co-founder and chief executive Olivier Jager, said: ‘Our data shows that international bookings to Tunisia have been under-performing since mid-2014. Obviously the two terrorist attacks in the first half of 2015 have made the situation considerably worse.’

Major operators cancelled programmes to Tunisia for the rest of this year and summer 2016 after the British Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned against all but essential travel to Tunisia in the wake of the Sousse attack.

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Morocco steps up security after Tunisia massacre

HOLIDAY resorts in #Morocco are reportedly being swamped with armed police as the country goes on high alert after last month’s beach massacre in Tunisia. The North African country’s security services have also stepped up surveillance of domestic militant cells, The Times reports.

A recent anti-terror raid was directed at a nine-member Isis cell operating in northern cities, the interior ministry said. The group had allegedly been recruiting fighters to Syria and made explosives and chemical materials for attacks on home soil.

‘No organized networks can develop here in Morocco because we dismantle them before they can get anywhere,’ said Mustapha El Khalfi, a government official. ‘Last summer, authorities launched the Vigilance programme, which means we have posted many more military police at main tourist places and in front of airports. It follows a comprehensive plan we have developed since 2004 of religious reform, security measures, and fighting extremist ideas.”

Tourism has increased by at least 8% since 2010 and accounts for 9% of Morocco’s gross domestic product. More than 500,000 British tourists visit the country every year, the second largest group of visitors after the French.

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Come home, Brits in Tunisia told

BRITISH holidaymakers in #Tunisia have been advised by the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to leave the country. It has advised against all but essential travel to Tunisia.

The FCO is working with tour operators to ensure British nationals are able to return to the UK.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: ‘Since the attack in #Sousse the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably, leading us to the view that a further #terroristattack is highly likely.

‘The Tunisian investigation into those behind the Sousse attack and that on the Bardo Museum earlier this year is ongoing and the Tunisians have made clear they want to track down further individuals who they suspect may have links to this attack. While we are working with the Tunisian authorities to further strengthen those measures, we judge that more work is needed to effectively protect tourists from the terrorist threat.

‘If you are in Tunisia, you should contact your tour operator or airline who can help plan your return. Anyone travelling independently should look to return on commercial flights.’

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Vacation time? Guard your ID!

HOLIDAYMAKERS who used to worry about their homes being burglarized now face a greater threat while travelling: #identitytheft. The increased use of social media, public WiFi networks, ATM machines and mobile devices by families on holiday in the US and abroad have made them prime targets for cybercrime. A free Summer Vacation Guide to Identity Security is now available, offering safety tips for protecting devices, data, and identities.

‘Anyone – adult or child - who uses a computer, tablet or mobile device on a plane, in a hotel room or in a cyber cafe can be a victim of #cybercrime,’ says cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright.

Wright, a former law enforcement officer who has advised the US departments of Justice, Defence and Homeland Security on cybersecurity strategies created the guide in response to an internet safety threat report that reveals a dramatic rise in identity theft, digital extortion, and data corruption.

Among the guide's do's and don'ts are how to identify and avoid:

· Bluetooth and WiFi vulnerabilities

· Social media and mobile app risks

· Malware and ransomware attacks

· Credit card, online banking and ATM scams

Wright recommends that families read the guide prior to leaving on vacation in order to implement some of its recommendations from their secure home internet networks. Then, he suggests packing it along with their travel itineraries as a reminder of cyber safety precautions when on the road.

Copies of his guide can be obtained at www.scribd.com/doc/266503798/Summer-Vacation-Guide-to-Identity-Security

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US airport security to be revised

REVISED security procedures across the US are planned after tests found that airport screeners allowed mock explosives and weapons through checkpoints 95% of the time. A screener in one test failed to find a fake bomb taped to an agent's back despite patting the man down.

ABC News reported that the tests were carried out at 70 US airports. Only three airports were able to detect the banned weapons, a Homeland Security Department report said.

A department spokesman said security officers should be re-trained and scanning equipment re-tested.

‘We take these findings very seriously in our continued effort to test, measure, and enhance our capabilities and techniques as threats evolve.’

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