Train and coach passengers in England who have cancelled their Christmas travel plans will have their bookings refunded, the government has announced. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said customers would not be left out of pocket for “doing the right thing” amid the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions across the UK. Boris Johnson changed the Christmas “bubble” policy on Saturday and placed large parts of east and south-east England under new tier 4 measures. The Department for Transport (DfT) said cash refunds would be provided for cancelled rail and coach bookings in England for the previously announced Christmas travel window of 23-27 December.
Tickets will be refunded only if they were purchased after the travel window was announced on 24 November and before it was amended on 19 December. The DfT said operators would be able to issue refunds immediately but warned they may face delays owing to the high volume of claims. Passengers are advised to check their train operator’s website for how to claim. Shapps said: “It is imperative that we all follow the new measures and play our part in tackling this virus, protecting others and safeguarding our NHS. “If you booked a coach or rail journey between 23 and 27 December, you are entitled to a cash refund. This ensures no one is left out of pocket for doing the right thing – staying home in tier 4, and elsewhere staying local and only meeting your Christmas bubble on Christmas Day.” However, most airlines are currently refusing to refund passengers who can no longer travel because of the tier 4 restrictions, unless the flight is cancelled, instead offering fee-free opportunities to rebook to a later date. A government spokesperson said: “Air carriers are required to offer rerouting or compensation to passengers if their flight is cancelled. If the flight is still operating, but government guidance prevents people from travelling, the airline they booked with may be providing refunds or they may be able to claim money back through their credit or debit card provider, or through their travel insurance. They should check with their operator on the specific terms and conditions.” The consumer rights group Which? pointed out that the refunds guarantee also did not cover ferry journeys. Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, said: “It’s right that the government has agreed to refund people in England for train and coach journeys they can no longer take, but this means many travellers could still be left out of pocket if they have booked to travel home by other means, such as on a flight or by ferry, or if they are travelling in other parts of the UK. “If it is not within the government’s gift to extend refunds to passengers who have paid for other forms of travel over the holiday period, then airlines, ferry companies and other travel providers across the UK must be urged to provide refunds or flexible rebooking options for those who can no longer travel, to prevent people from facing a choice between losing their money or travelling against government advice.” Late on Sunday, Eurostar cancelled all services from London to Paris, Brussels, Lille or Amsterdam for Monday and Tuesday after European governments announced bans on travel from the UK in response to the emergence of the new coronavirus variant, known as VUI2020/01. Services will only operate from Paris to London on those days. Eurotunnel suspended passenger and freight traffic to France from its Folkestone terminal from 10pm on Sunday but travel continues in the opposite direction. Eurostar said it planned to resume all train services to and from the UK on Wednesday. Eurotunnel said services to France would resume from midnight on Tuesday at the earliest. Airports warned passengers that if they had no ticket or were heading for a country with an active UK ban in place, they would not be able to check in and so should stay at home.
Covid restrictions were due to be relaxed for the festive period to allow households to meet for five days in what was called a Christmas “bubble”. However, owing to a rise in coronavirus cases, only three households – outside tier 4 areas – would be able to meet for Christmas Day. Meanwhile, areas under tier 4 restrictions have in effect been returned to the national lockdown rules of November. The move came after scientists on the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NervTag) concluded that the mutant strain identified by Public Health England was spreading more quickly. • This article was amended on 21 December 2020. Outside tier 4 areas, three households will be able to meet on Christmas Day, not two households as an earlier version said.