Have you had to change/cancel travel due to COVID-19 (involuntarily or voluntarily)?

[robtemt]

I thought I would start a thread as a resource for AFFers who have changed or cancelled travel plans directly or indirectly due to 2019 n-CoV.

• Did the airline/cruise company cancelling or change your flight/cruise? Or, did you proactively or reactively cancel or change it on your own (and why?).
• Did they notify you directly, or did you discover it on your own?
• What was your original plan, and what was the revised plan?
• What was your experience like?
• Did you go through any travel insurance claim process, and how was that part of it?

For the record, part of my role at work is to monitor medical related issues, filter out mis/disinformation, and brief other staff using only verified facts from trusted sources, so I am not one to buy into sensationalism or hysteria. BUT, I am also an advocate of forward planning and monitoring situations that could affect travel plans.

Post automatically merged: Feb 10, 2020

To start it off…. We have begun voluntarily changing (or making back up plans for) our upcoming holiday SYD-(+/- SIN)-LAX-SJO-LAX-HNL-LNY-HNL-SYD

We are booked to the USA via SIN on SQ in a few weeks (F Saver Reward Booking). A few things caused us to start making contingency plans on getting to the USA including:

• Reading posts from Buttermilk Chicken regarding her RTW flight being disrupted between HKK and CEB
• Member Pushka raising a good point if Singapore will be next.
• Monitoring the World Health Organisations surveillance on n-CoV (as part of my responsibilities at work). Singapore confirmed infections were 28 on 5 Feb, 40 on 8 Feb, and 43 on 9 Feb. Several of these cases were human-to-human contact, with no recent travel to China.
• Bloomberg’s article this morning HERE, which discussed the spread of the virus from a conference attendee in Singapore, via a resort in France, to people in France, Spain, and the UK.

We contacted SQ, to discuss the options of alternative carriers, to which there were no available flights. The agent was very friendly, and said she understood the desire to rebook and avoid an Asia transit, but she said until official bans are in place, there were no options, but “we will offer options if Singapore becomes affected by travel bans”.

We began searching other options. We contacted VFF, who found one seat on DL SYD-LAX in W, and one seat on VA in J SYD-BNE-LAX. No other business or premium reward seats (except any seat) were available +/- 1 day of our desired travel (with pre-booked hotels, cars, and other flights to South America, and Hawaii). We will keep looking for another J seat on same day, and hopefully two on the same flight to free up closer to the date.

We have left our SQ bookings as is for now, and will cancel either that booking of the DL/VA booking closer to the date as thing develop.

Overall Experience:

• Wait times on the phone are obviously a bit longer, but I’ve not been on hold longer than 15 minutes with either VA or SQ.
• Staff at both SQ and VA call centres have been friendly, empathetic, and helpful in searching, but have no/limited availability and flexibility in voluntary changes so far.

 

[daft009]

I've booked a 1wk work trip (self employed) to to HK & TPE via SIN, last week of May.
Not touching it... lets see what happens by late April before making and rash/silly decisions.

 

[RooFlyer]

Leaving on RTW over 5 weeks including zUSA, Europe, Japan and Taiwan, next week. No changes of plans anticipated now, but Taiwan could get punted ( a month off ATM).

 

[I love to travel]

Not touching Singapore and Taiwan flights in August but I am also not booking accommodation yet either until things get better. Normally would have booked by now.

 

[Pushka]

Yes. Even Domestically! One of our people was in Melbourne about to depart for flight to Canberra when that workshop was called off due to Coronavirus. Had to book flight back to Adelaide and cancel Mel - Canberra and then Canberra - Adelaide a few days later v

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I thought a thread already EXISTED.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes. Even Domestically! One of our people was in Melbourne about to depart for flight to Canberra when that workshop was called off due to Coronavirus. Had to book flight back to Adelaide and cancel Mel - Canberra and then Canberra - Adelaide a few days later v

Out of interest why was a workshop in Canberra cancelled due to the novo Coronavirus?

 

[robtemt]

I thought a thread already EXISTED.

I read it as travel insurance specific, but I'm not overly fussed if this thread is considered repetitive.

 

[Pushka]

Out of interest why was a workshop in Canberra cancelled due to the novo Coronavirus?

A Government Agency that would be involved in umm, ensuring that processes go well? Can’t go into more detail than that.

 

[robtemt]

I've booked a 1wk work trip (self employed) to to HK & TPE via SIN, last week of May.
Not touching it... lets see what happens by late April before making and rash/silly decisions.

I think you'll find over the next two weeks after the virus has had a "good run", the assessment of biosecurity/PPE effectiveness, and as the WHO/CDCP have a better idea of the true source, how the virus has evolved, and the transmission method(s), the potential impact and disease mapping/prediction will give a much more accurate outlook.

Until then, with so many unknowns, I wouldn't call a bit of prevention/planning rash or silly, in fact it's a bit condescending, intentional or not. That being said, I'm not implying that anyone cancel travel for the foreseeable future either. To each their own in some circumstances. But, some people have no choice in the matter. Hence, the topic.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

A Government Agency that would be involved in umm, ensuring that processes go well? Can’t go into more detail than that.

So reading between the lines more because the Gov Staff involved had now had to be elsewhere (or working on other priorities).


A bit like a firefighting conference being cancelled due the attendees being needed to fight fires, rather than there being a fire at the conference.

 

[daft009]

I think you'll find over the next two weeks after the virus has had a "good run", the assessment of biosecurity/PPE effectiveness, and as the WHO/CDCP have a better idea of the true source, how the virus has evolved, and the transmission method(s), the potential impact and disease mapping/prediction will give a much more accurate outlook.

Until then, with so many unknowns, I wouldn't call a bit of prevention/planning rash or silly, in fact it's a bit condescending, intentional or not. That being said, I'm not implying that anyone cancel travel for the foreseeable future either. To each their own in some circumstances. But, some people have no choice in the matter. Hence, the topic.

"silly" wasn't aimed at you, sorry mate.
your trip is in a few weeks...I'd be doing the exact same thing
mine not for ~3.5 months..i meant silly for me to change things now when its so far away

 

[robtemt]

"silly" wasn't aimed at you, sorry mate.
your trip is in a few weeks...I'd be doing the exact same thing
mine not for ~3.5 months..i meant silly for me to change things now when its so far away

Ah, @daft009 , that puts it in better context. Apologies. The curse of forums/text messages/notes on windshields.

I totally agree anyone 2+ months out are better off waiting to see what happens in the next few weeks. Anyone 2-3 weeks out, without anyone having the upper hand on this, would be wise to at least consider alternatives. I know I didn't want to be T- 48/72 hours and worrying about what to do, if something required the change.

The optimist in me says we will be sitting in our suites, drinking Krug, and flying on a a350-900 for the first time (seperate legs of course). Gloved fingers crossed.

 

[GlobalT]

I am off to Singapore on Thursday then Tokyo on the 17th for a week before returning to Singapore then Canberra and back to Singapore. No plans at this stage to change anything although holding off on booking travel beyond when this trip ends on 3 March.

 

[sudoer]

I have a trip in two weeks which was planned as

SYD-DPS (QF)
DPS-xHKG-NGO (CX)
HND-TSA (JL)
TPE-xHKG-DPS (CX)
DPS-KUL (MH)
KUL-SIN (MH)
SIN-PEN (3K)
PEN-xKUL-DPS (MH)
DPS-SYD (QF)

Just as nCoV was going global, CX cancelled my HKG-NGO flight due to 'commercial and operational reasons'. They cancelled a bunch of other TW-JP flights and also direct HK-JP flights. I ended up rebooking HKG-NRT.

Within 48 hours Taiwan then introduced a mandatory quarantine on non-residents who had transited in HKG within the last 14 days. Thankfully CX published a travel waiver which allowed any itineraries to/from Taiwan to be refunded without penalty. So I took the refund, and at the moment have rebooked DPS-xTPE-NGO on CI, and TPE-xKUL-DPS on MH.

Will be monitoring over the next week to see how the spread progresses into Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia but at this stage I'm still intending to travel.

 

[Mike65]

I am off to Singapore on Thursday then Tokyo on the 17th for a week before returning to Singapore then Canberra and back to Singapore. No plans at this stage to change anything although holding off on booking travel beyond when this trip ends on 3 March.

Hi GlobalT, I'm booked to go to SIN in two weeks to meet with my team based there. Would be interested to hear your take on how they are handling the situation at the airport, in and around town, eg What's the vibe? My company has instituted on-arrival temperature checks for all travellers/visitors to our offices in Singapore. A lot of people there are very nervous.....

 

[GlobalT]

Hi GlobalT, I'm booked to go to SIN in two weeks to meet with my team based there. Would be interested to hear your take on how they are handling the situation at the airport, in and around town, eg What's the vibe? My company has instituted on-arrival temperature checks for all travellers/visitors to our offices in Singapore. A lot of people there are very nervous.....

yep, lots of very nervous people at the moment in Singapore but also a lot of over reaction from the general community. Lots of people wearing masks and doctors clinics are standing room only. In fact the two clinics across the road from where I live now have additional seating outside. I have had to postpone meetings because last week I had the start of a cold (sniffles, cough etc) and my contact informed me the office staff are so paranoid that it was best stay away. Airport is fine, as of last week they were just asking if you had been in mainland China in previous four days which is the same question they are asking on arrival to Australia. Singapore government are working hard to try and control the panic by taking front page ads in the paper telling people not to wear masks if they are not sick.
I have a brunch planned for this Sunday so will see if there is any difference in the number of people out and about at restaurants but there was no difference last week, most people are still going about their lives and business as usual, just slightly more paranoid in some cases.

 

[trevella]

Singapore government are working hard to try and control the panic by taking front page ads in the paper telling people not to wear masks if they are not sick.

This is what the Straits Times looked like last week:

 

[robtemt]

Smartraveller warned today:
Expect further restrictions and travel disruptions as other countries seek to control the spread of the outbreak. Monitor your health closely and follow the advice of local authorities. Contact your airline, tour operator or travel insurance provider for departure options.

An example is since Saturday, Taiwan prohibiting visitors from entering who have visited China, Hong Kong, or Macau in past 14 days.

 

[Fergo747]

Was meant to be going to India at the end of this month for work. Company travel restrictions came out this week so will not be going any more.