Note to customers
As the ability to travel overseas to enjoy holidays finally becomes possible again, there are some important points that we feel we should bring to your attention. The following information is provided as a general guide as in not specific to your booking more general observations and points to consider. Specific information relating to the travel and accommodation that may be provided in your arrangements may be available and a good starting point is the websites for those suppliers, that may be airlines, cruise lines or hotel websites.
The world is opening but is quite different.
Whilst we are all excited that the ‘new normal’ is ahead of us, it is important to point out that your experience of travelling will likely be quite different to the last time you went overseas. From airports to transfer coaches, taxis locally and the facilities you enjoy in your hotel, there will be many changes, some slight and to be expected some more noticeable. You may be required to carry face masks and wear them at different times, for customers who have pre booked specific seats on a plane for example, you may find that the airline is adopting an approach to take some seats out of service to manage social distancing. In the hotels you may find the meal arrangements include stipulations to pre book to manage the number of people gathered together.
Whilst all of these alterations will have some impact on your experience, this may be the ‘new normal’ and whilst we appreciate this may change how you feel about your holiday, most Tour Operators don’t class this as something that entitles customers to cancel their arrangements without forfeiting cancellation charges.
We do understand that some of our customers may prefer to defer their arrangements to a later date and we will do whatever we can to accommodate this. Charges incurred in any change are likely to be made and the terms of the various Tour Operators and travel suppliers would be discussed with you before agreeing to proceed.
When we have organised a package we follow the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice, most Tour Operators do the same, and we observe their guidance when we determine if arrangements can go ahead or not. The travel entry requirements are listed on each countries specific page and we urge all customers to keep checking that information when making their decision around travelling and how safe it is, we cannot give you the answer and each customer must make their own decision based on the various information available, we will however ensure we signpost to the information to help you make our calculated decision.
Both these website may be useful:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice This is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, which since the Coronavirus outbreak began has been offering British nationals advice. Initially with advice to some countries saying that you shouldn’t travel unless it is essential (you have to be the judge of what is essential) and later to advise “against all but essential travel” to any overseas destination. This will slowly reax and each country will have its own specific guidance.
https://reopen.europa.eu/en This is the European Unions website which has more information compiled by the EU from the data provided by each member state. If you are travelling to a non-EU Destination this site won’t be relevant.
We've been working hard to ensure your holiday can go ahead as smoothly and safely as possible, in-line with official government guidelines.
Your health and holiday experience are our top priority, so rest assured you're in safe hands.
Click here to get FCO advice about travelling abroad, including the latest information on coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Travel to some countries and territories is currently exempted.
This advice is being kept under constant review. Travel disruption is still possible and national control measures may be brought in with little notice. We advise all customers to visit the official gov.uk website here
To help reduce the risk of infection and to keep you and airport staff safe, a number of additional measures have been introduced at some airports. Social distancing won’t always be possible in an airport environment, but please keep a safe distance between you and other people whenever possible. The following other measures are likely to be in place to keep you safe:
For further information specific to your airport please use these links
Manchester Airport Click here
Birmingham Airport Click here
Gatwick Airport Click here
Heathrow Airport Click here
Luton Airport Click here
Stansted Airport Click here
Bristol Airport Click here
Cardiff Airport Click here
East Midlands Airport Click here
Leeds Bradford Airport Click here
Liverpool Airport Click here
Newcastle Airport Click here
Glasgow Airport Click here
Edinburgh Airport Click here
The impact that Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had on the travel industry and the suppliers who provide services to create a package holiday has been extensive.
There have been necessary changes to how Co-operative Travel issue refunds to customers for their cancelled holiday arrangements. During this time refunds are taking longer than usual, and we thank you for your patience.
If you have booked a package including an element of transport, such as a flight, train, cruise, ferry, it is important that you know that your money is safe and you are financially protected from the financial failure of any of the suppliers, or indeed ourselves as your Travel Agent, or Organiser.
If your booking is cancelled because the FCO advise against travel, you are entitled to a refund, but you may need to be patient with the unfolding refund process. It will be dependent upon the tour operator on your booking.
We operate mainly as a travel agent, where we sell other companies’ holidays in the capacity of an agent. This means we can offer to you the consumer a wide range of travel arrangements rather than being limited to just offering one company in the main. When we collect money from you, it is paid over to the travel organiser. If the arrangements are cancelled and a refund is applicable, we must receive the money back from the supplier in order to hand it back to you.
A Refund Credit Note entitles you to rebook a holiday at a future date or receive a cash refund at the expiry date of the note. It also retains the financial protection that you had with your original booking.
If your original booking, for example a package holiday with flights, came with ATOL financial protection, the RCN will still provide this protection. If your original booking came with ABTA financial protection, for example a cruise holiday or other package holiday including rail or coach travel, the RCN will still provide this protection.
Refund Credit Notes may look different depending on your travel provider, but they should all comprise the following:
Thousands of customers have already amended and rebooked their holiday or have received a Refund Credit Note from their travel provider. If your original holiday was covered by a financial protection scheme (e.g. ATOL or ABTA), your Refund Credit Note is financially protected by ATOL or ABTA (whichever covered your original booking) in the event your travel business fails. It is important that your Refund Credit Note includes certain things, please see more detail on this there (see What is a Refund Credit Note above). If you are uncertain about accepting a Refund Credit Note, then talk to your travel provider about your options. ABTA can also provide information on these.
As a long term member of ABTA, Co-op Travel follow the rules for Refund Credit Note. If you have evidence that an agent is not following the above rules, in the first instance please contact our Customer Support team. customersupport@cooptravel.coop
No. A Refund Credit Note preserves your right to a cash refund, which can be redeemed at the latest at the expiry date of the note.
The complication with the scale of the current refund position is that the travel organisers are also waiting for the funds back from airlines, hotels, transfers and tour providers. If the amount of refunds that are due were all paid over, within the 14 days as set out in the Package Travel Regulations (PTR), there wouldn’t have been enough time for the funds to have moved around from company to company.
Ultimately someone would fail in the chain and there would likely be a domino effect leaving customers without refunds and having to make a claim against the protection schemes that are in place.
No. A holiday voucher is different to a Refund Credit Note. Holiday vouchers, gift vouchers and other discount vouchers are not protected by the schemes of financial protection.
Your Refund Credit Note should include an expiry date which is based on your travel company’s financial protection arrangements, or a date sooner than this.
The reason the dates will vary by provider is because some companies will have financial protection in place for their holidays for a longer period than others. The majority of holiday bookings are covered by ATOL. ABTA does not have the authority to set dates for when ATOL protection applies, this is set by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The majority of package travel arrangements provided by ABTA Members are protected by either the CAA’s ATOL scheme or by the ABTA Bond of the Member company. Both the ATOL and ABTA schemes protect a refund that was due for a holiday that has not taken place if a travel company fails. You can check this for yourself on the ATOL Air Travel Trust Payment Policy, section 4.2 on page 28.
ABTA is an independent organisation, recognised by the UK Department for Business (BEIS) as an Approved Body under the 2018 Package Travel Regulations. Some of our Members provide bonds through one of the other two Approved Bodies – ABTOT or the CPT Bonded Coach Holidays schemes. ABTA accepts the use of both of these schemes for our Members. Some Members also use financial failure insurance products rather than Bonds. These are also permitted under the 2018 Package Travel Regulations. ABTA checks that all these are in place and monitors them, so that customers do not have to do so when booking with an ABTA Member. Further information on the ATOL scheme can be found on the Civil Aviation Authority website.
We are keeping in touch with all of the travel organisers we work with to make sure refunds are received as quickly as possible although there has been a call to government to permit that refunds should be made in the form of a Refund Credit Note, effectively delaying the refund to allow the companies involved to work through the administrative tasks to get funds back to the customer.
The Refund Credit Note would be redeemable against a future booking and there may be a option to exchange for cash at a later point (on or before March 31st 2021 is likely).
It is important to note that the value would remain protected against the original booking to keep consumer financial protection in place, so your investment remains protected.
Due to the changes to businesses around the world from reduced staffing levels, offices being unavailable and the additional loss of new sales whilst consumers are coming to terms with the changes on their own circumstances, there is inevitable disruption and we would ask for your understanding of these facts.
Sometimes when we sell travel arrangements to our customers, we become the organiser as dictated by the Package Travel Regulations (PTR), and so the responsibilities and obligations fall to us.
We will do our very best ensure that refunds are provided but we rely on our third-party travel partners to make that possible. This may mean you are provided with a Refund Credit Note until cash is received back from airlines, hoteliers etc. The Refund Credit Note may be redeemed for a cash refund at a later date if you are unable to use the Refund Credit Note in the meantime (We are working with 31st March 2021 to redeem or exchange).
The information from many of the travel suppliers involved in the holidays we sell is changing from day to day, which in turn means it is difficult for us to be able to give clear and absolute guidance to our customers and would thank you for your patience as the refund process evolves.
Page updated: 21/04/2020 11:00
We offer a huge range of currencies, available for purchase in our travel branches. We always recommend that you buy your currency or travellers cheques in plenty of time as stocks can be low during peak seasons. It's a good idea to monitor exchange rates and buy when the rates are at their best, but don't leave it too late! Use our locator to find your nearest Co-operative Travel branch where you'll find great rates on all currencies.
For more information, please visit our holiday-extras page.
We would recommend that you take out suit travel insurance for yourself and anyone travelling with you - including infants and children.
We can't accept responsibility for any loss that you or anyone travelling on your booking suffers if the individual isn't adequately insured. With all insurance policies, terms and conditions apply, so you need to make sure you've got the right policy for you.
At a minimum, your travel insurance should be 'comprehensive', providing cover against personal accident, death, medical expenses, emergency repatriation and personal liability. Please visit co-op insurance.
While we can offer information and advice about visa requirements, we always recommend that passengers check with their local embassy as visa rules can change without warning. Embassy websites in your home country will always have information about requirements, visa costs and will provide the required forms.
Please contact the relevant local embassy, or visit a travel agent, to organise your visa/s.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the NHS have up-to-date advice on staying safe and healthy abroad.
For more on security, local laws, plus passport and visa information, see www.gov.uk/travelaware
Keep informed of current travel health news by visiting www.travelhealthpro.org.uk
You'll be able to check in online if you're flying with easyJet, Aer Lingus, Jet2, Flybe, or Thomas Cook, and you've been given a separate 6-character flight booking reference. You'll do this directly on the airlines website. Just so you know, some airlines don't offer online check-in.
If you're flying with Thomson Airways or any of those airlines listed below and you pay extra to reserve your seats, you'll get to choose your seat numbers. You can either reserve your seats when you're booking your holiday, or you can add them later by contacting us. If you don't use our Select Your Seat services, your seats will be automatically allocated to you when you check-in online.
- Air Europa (flight prefix AEA)
- Albastar (flight prefix JQ)
- ASL Airlines France (flight prefix FPO)
- ASL Airlines Ireland (flight prefix ABR)
- Evelop Airlines (flight prefix EVE)
- Germania (flight prefix ST)
- Norwegian (flight prefix D8)
- Travel Service (flight prefix QS)
- Volotea (flight prefix VOE)
Once you've reserved your seats, you'll be able access the seat map of the plane from 90 days before your return flight, up until 6 hours before departure. If you have reserved Premium Seats, Extra Leg Seats or Extra Space Seats then you will be able to access the seat map immediately after you book your holiday on our Flight Extras page. This is what you'll need to use to choose your seats on the plane.
If you have paid extra for Select Your Seat and you're booking your holiday more than 90 days before your return flight, we'll send you a separate email once the seat map is available to you. If you haven't received your email, it's worth checking your junk or spam folder in case it appears there. If you're booking less than 90 days before you return, you'll find a link to the seat map in your confirmation email. If you have reserved Premium Seats, Extra Leg Seats or Extra Space Seats then you will be able to access the seat map immediately after you book your holiday.
Yes. However, we can't provide heating facilities on board - although for infants, we are able to warm bottles of milk in hot water. Therefore, we would advise low-risk food such as pre-made sandwiches and snacks that can be eaten cold.
Airport operators within the EU have a responsibility to assist anyone with a disability or mobility difficulties during their time at the airport. This includes intellectual disability or impairment, age or any other cause of disability. The airports will signpost designated points for customers with reduced mobility.
The assistance Airlines can provide to disabled customers and customers with reduced mobility, can include the following (services will vary by airline – please contact us prior to booking and our agents will confirm the specific arrangements available for your selected airline):
Assistance moving to and from seats on the aircraft.
Providing use of the on-board wheelchair.
Helping a customer to and from the on-board lavatory providing this does not involve lifting or carrying the customer
Assisting a customer with their hand luggage on board the aircraft
It should be noted that any customers with reduced mobility will not be able to sit in an exit-row seat, if you are selecting seats as part of your online check-in and you select these seats, you will be re-allocated seats at the airport check-in desk or onboard the plane.
If you have any disability, medical need or if you have difficulty moving around you’ll find the information you need here.
We recommend that you always contact us before making a booking to allow us to confirm that all the required arrangements can be made for your selected holiday.If you are unsure as to what may be classed as requiring special assistance, we recommend you download and complete the ABTA checklist which can be found here. This will help us to best advise you on the assistance available for your holiday booking.
Many overseas accommodation, overseas transport (including transfers) and other holiday services provided overseas aren’t equipped to cater for the needs of disabled holidaymakers. Sometimes, the natural terrain and the layout of resorts can make life difficult for people with mobility difficulties. It’s important if you have any disability, that the suitability of particular accommodation, resorts, transport and services are checked and that you’re completely satisfied you’ve made the right choice before you confirm your holiday.
If you, or anyone on your booking require specific accommodation arrangements or have any other overseas requirements relating to a disability, we recommend that this is processed over the phone via your booking agent. We always recommend you discuss your specific requirements with our team before making a booking.
The policies for assistance dogs being carried will vary between different airlines. Please contact us prior to booking your holiday if you are travelling with an assistance dog so we can check the requirements for the airline involved in your holiday booking.
For any other specific accessibility needs not mentioned above, please ensure you contact us prior to making a booking to allow us to best assist with ensuring your needs are met. You may find the "ABTA checklist for disabled & less moobile passengers" useful for planning your trip - you can download a copy here.
We can’t be held responsible if you don’t tell us about special requirements that will affect your holiday experience.
When you arrive at the airport, you'll be met by a Holiday Rep. They'll usually be waiting for you outside the airport and will be wearing Thomson or First Choice uniform. You'll then be shown to the coach that'll take you to your hotel.
If you’ve booked or are considering booking a resort transfer between the airport and your accommodation as part of your holiday arrangements with us, you’ll need to contact us so we can help.
Our suppliers will try to accommodate all customers and their equipment/luggage on transfer coaches, but there are restrictions due to the type, space and accessibility of vehicles that are available in other countries. This means alternative transfer arrangements may have to be organised.
For example, If you’re taking an electric wheelchair or scooter, we recommend you book a taxi transfer to your hotel as in most destinations you can’t take this equipment on coaches. We can also arrange a taxi transfer for you if you are not able to climb the steps on the coach.
Please contact us for prices of taxi transfers and we’ll help you with any reservations you need to make. In some destinations taxis may not be adapted to accommodate wheelchairs, please ask us for more details when you call.
Self-catering: Meals are not included at your accommodation, but you will be provided with catering facilities in your accommodation to cook light meals.
Bed and breakfast: Breakfast is included at your accommodation.
Half board: Your breakfast and evening meal are included at your accommodation.
Full board: Your breakfast, lunch and evening meals are included at your accommodation.
All Inclusive: What's included in the All Inclusive package varies depending on where you're staying. To find details on what's included at the hotel you're interested in, please search for the hotel directly, or speak to your travel advisor who should be able to look into this for you.
Adapted Rooms, or walk in showers can only be guaranteed before a booking is confirmed. If someone on your booking would like to arrange these then please contact us prior to booking.
Yes, you'll find the live chat option on the Contact Us page.
If you need to make an amendment to your booking call us on 01922 908389.
If you need a doctor or a dentist while you're on holiday, contact your Holiday Rep. Contact details will be on your arrival card or on your notice board at the hotel. If you're calling us from abroad, this will be charged an international rates.
You can make a claim if the arrival time was delayed by more than three hours, and if the flight took place within the last six years. Any compensation offered will be sent to the lead passenger. We aren’t able to offer any compensation for non-fare paying customers, such as children that flew with a free child place, or infants under the age of 2 years. To make a claim, please contact your airline directly.
For more information, please visit our Terms & Conditions page.
