Holidaymakers stranded in Mauritius due to the conflict in the Gulf have been left facing huge bills after being wrongly advised by Virgin Holidays to pay for their own accommodation. The travellers, who booked a package holiday with Virgin, had their return flight via Dubai cancelled following the outbreak of war in Iran.
Virgin’s local representative initially told them to arrange and pay for accommodation themselves and reclaim the cost from their travel insurance. Only after the customers challenged this did Virgin agree to cover hotel costs. However, other Virgin guests continued to fund their own rooms, with some downgrading to keep costs down.
The package travel regulations require tour operators to pay for food and accommodation if a holiday is disrupted and to book customers on to a flight home with a different airline if the original carrier cannot fly them within a reasonable time. Standard travel insurance policies do not cover costs caused by war, contrary to what Virgin advised.
Virgin also told customers they would have to wait nine days for its chosen airline to resume operations, and that if they wanted an earlier flight with a different carrier, they would have to claim the cost from their insurer. One couple only secured an earlier flight via Johannesburg after repeatedly hassling Virgin’s call centre, arriving home seven days late.
Virgin Holidays said it always abides by the package travel regulations and apologised for any miscommunication regarding its policy. It stated that customers in some destinations were advised to arrange short-term accommodation extensions directly with their hotel, with expenses to be reimbursed by submitting a claim.
