Our Travel Expert answers YOUR questions on flights and holidays amid Iran crisis
HUNDREDS of you, Sun Readers, have reached out to us about your holidays concerns because of the ongoing Iran crisis.
So our Travel Expert – Head of Travel, Lisa Minot – is answering them all for you.
From whether Greece is safe to whether you can cancel your holiday for a refund, here is everything you need to know.
We are going to Cyprus in June and the balance is due by March 17, should we still pay it?
Although many Sun readers are concerned about their holidays to Cyprus following on from the attack on the RAF airbase on the island and the cancellation of flights from British Airways, easyJet and TUI, currently the UK Foreign Office has not issued any warnings about travel to the island.
Unlike the UAE, where the current advises against all but essential travel, Cyprus remains on the safe to travel list.
If you do not pay the balance of your holiday, you face losing the money you have paid to your travel provider so far.
Read more on travel advice
If the advice were to change, your travel company would have to offer you the chance to amend your travel to a different date or offer you a full refund.
We have had lots of questions about holidays to Cyprus – both Larnaca and Paphos, later in June, July and September and the advice really remains the same.
Unless you have paid a minimal deposit, you should continue to make payments. If you cancel now you could lose money – and discover that holidays are significantly more expensive when you look to book again.
What is important is to make sure you have bought good travel insurance NOW to cover you in the run up to your holiday dates. A lot can happen in the coming months.
Take the time to enquire about what you would be covered for in terms of delays and cancellations as these can vary from policy to policy.
Will this affect holidays in Egypt? We’re due to fly there in May for our honeymoon
While it is very understandable that travellers would be a little nervous of the proximity of Egypt to the current crisis, the popular Egyptian Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Hurgahda and Marsa Alam as well as the majority of Egypt including ancient cities of Cairo and Luxor are NOT under any Foreign Office travel ban.
While no one can predict what is going to happen in the region, it is currently considered safe to travel to these destinations and your tour operator or airline is under no obligation to refund you if you chose not to travel.
Hurghada and Marsa Alam are hundreds of miles away from the conflict zone and holidays there should not be impacted at all.
I had tipped Egypt as one of the stand-out destinations for British travellers to enjoy 5* luxury at great value prices this year.
Increased flights from the UK and an ever greater number of new luxury resorts mean it still offers guaranteed sunshine for all budgets.
I travelled to Luxor, Hurghada and Marsa Alam in February and could not have felt safer with the Egyptians taking security very seriously.
Is Greece safe to travel, being so close to Turkey?
Yes Greece is safe to travel to – and is not under any UK Foreign Office travel warnings.
The main popular tourist resorts in both Greece and Turkey are many thousands of miles from the current problems in the Middle East.
If you choose to cancel a holiday you have already made payments on you will NOT get your money back as your travel company is under no legal obligation to refund you.
A refund is only triggered if the Foreign Office advises against all travel or all but essential travel.
Again, ensuring you have fully comprehensive travel insurance from the moment you make your booking is really important to give you added protection in the run up to your trip.
We’ve had questions from Sun readers looking at trips to Corfu and Rhodes this summer – they should be reassured that the chance of holidays to these islands being impacted, while not impossible, is extremely unlikely.
Will travel disruption escalate to the Canary Islands travel from the UK?
While nothing can be guaranteed in these extraordinary times, there is nothing whatsoever to lead me to think that the current crisis will have any impact at all on holidays to the Canary Islands from the UK.
It is understandable that people are worried about the situation, but all of the Canary Islands – along with the rest of Spain – remain on the Foreign Office’s safe to travel list and there is no indication this will change at all.
There is not any worry about international travel as a whole at the moment and airlines and tour operators take the safety and security of their passengers extremely seriously.
There should be no issues with travel this summer, where lots of Sun readers are looking forward to holidays.
Are Turkey resorts affected? We have a holiday booked for half-term
No – at present Turkey is not impacted at all by the current situation.
While there are Foreign Office bans on travel to the border between Turkey and Syria, the entire rest of the country is safe to travel to.
The popular coastal resorts of Dalaman, Bodrum, Antalya, Side, Marmaris and more are many thousands of miles from the conflict zone.
As the advice is that it is safe to travel, tour operators and airlines are under no obligation to offer you a refund if you choose not to travel. If you decide to cancel your trip, you will lose any money you have paid.
While some people may feel uneasy, the distances involved mean it is extremely unlikely that anything would impact your holiday.
With all package holidays, you have enhanced protection should the situation change.
If the Foreign Office changes its advice to all but essential travel, you will have extra rights to a refund or amended date.
But right now, that is not necessary as trips to the popular Mediterranean Turkish resorts are safe.
We am due to fly to Dubai March 12-18, having paid £6,000 for a package through Emirates. Do you know where I stand with cancelling?
With the huge popularity of holidays to Dubai – more than 1.47MILLION British travellers headed to the Emirate in 2025 – the Foreign Office now advising against all but essential travel will have a huge impact on those with upcoming holidays.
As the situation remains so uncertain, airlines and travel companies are dealing with upcoming bookings on a rolling basis – prioritising those who are due to travel soonest first.
As of today, passengers with bookings up to March 10 can request a refund directly from Emirates via an online form – and you should expect to receive that refund within a week.
But as your holiday doesn’t depart until March 12 you will have to contact Emirates directly to see if they will allow you to amend your booking or get a refund.
I totally appreciate that this is going to be challenging with many hundreds of thousands of travellers looking to rebook flights and holidays.
Right now, British Airways Holidays are offering rebooking options for those travelling up to March 8 to request a refund.
Those travelling up to March 15 can change their holiday dates or destination free of charge if they depart before March 29.
If you amend to a holiday that is more expensive, you’ll have to pay the difference. If it is cheaper, BA will refund you the difference.
Those travelling after March 15 can change their booking up to 14 days before travel for a fee of £100 or if within 14 days of travel for a fee of £500.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays has the same options in place for the same dates.
If you have bought travel insurance – and I really do recommend everyone does this from the MOMENT they book their holiday – it would be a good idea to contact them as well to see if there is anything you can claim for.
Anyone with holidays from April onwards, I recommend keeping an eye on the current travel advice, but do not cancel holidays unless you want to be out of pocket.
My daughter is due to return from Mauritius via Dubai on March 5 with Emirates Airlines. Will this be possible & what are her options?
Emirates has only suspended flights until midnight on March 4.
However this is likely to be extended as they are currently only operating repatriation flights for passengers who are stranded in Dubai.
It is advised for your daughter to contact Emirates and see if there is an alternative way to travel home.
Emirates must provide her with an alternative flight home, or a refund.
However, be aware that if she accepts a refund, your daughter will have to pay for her own alternative flight home which might be quicker, but much more expensive and she will not be able to claim the difference back from Emirates.
Air Mauritius offers direct flights from Mauritius to UK, otherwise airlines with non-Dubai stopovers include Air France (stopover in Paris) and Lufthansa (stopover in Frankfurt).
I have a long-haul holiday planned later this year, stopping in the Middle East. Should I cancel my trip or find another airline?
We have had lots of questions from you about upcoming holidays with stopovers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar – seeing as they’re huge hub airports for Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, this isn’t surprising.
This includes destinations such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bali, China, Vietnam, Australia and Pakistan.
If you have partly paid for your holidays for any of the above destinations, you must still pay the remaining balance or you will be left out of pocket.
It is only if the UK Foreign Office advises against any travel to these destinations that you will be able to cancel a holiday for a refund.
Unless you are travelling in the next few days, it is likely the holidays will still go ahead.
If you are wary of booking a stop over in the Middle East, then other popular destinations include Singapore, with Singapore Airlines, or Hong Kong, with Cathay Pacific and Istanbul with Turkish Airlines.
I’m confused about the government advice and where travel companies stand – surely a holiday shouldn’t be classed as “essential travel”?
I appreciate the travel warnings can be slightly confusing, so I’ll break them down for you.
There are two travel warnings from the UK Foreign Office – “against all but essential travel” and “against all travel”.
If the advice is against all travel, package holiday companies and airlines have to give you a refund.
If the advice is against all but essential travel the legal standing is a little more complicated.
However, most travel companies will offer to refund or amend your booking as they recognise they will not be able to provide you with the trip you purchased due to exceptional circumstances.
