Ryanair to let passengers change flights for free amidst coronavirus outbreaks

Ryanair has announced it will temporarily waive its change fees for passengers amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline usually charges up to £65 per passenger each way at the time of booking, or up to £95 per passenger when the changes are applied after the booking has been made.

However, in light of the uncertainty in the world of travel because of coronavirus outbreaks around the world, the budget carrier will be temporarily letting passengers rebook flights free of charge.

The new policy will apply to both existing bookings as well as new customers, for flights until Tuesday 31st March 2020.

It's worth noting that if the new flight costs more than your original booking, you'll still need to pay the fare difference.


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The airline shared the news on Twitter explaining: "From today (13 Mar) until Tue 31 Mar, Ryanair will waive the flight change fee for customers who wish to change their travel plans due to the current Covid-19 outbreak. This policy applies to all existing and new bookings.

"While customers will still need to pay the difference in fare when changing a flight, we believe removing the change fee will provide more flexibility.

"This does not apply to customers affected by flight cancellations as they are entitled to a refund or a free move onto an alternative Ryanair flight. Go to the "Manage Booking" section on http://ryanair.com to avail."

Ryanair's not the only airline to have introduced these measures to offer passengers more flexibility during the pandemic.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have also waived change fees for holidaymakers.

It's worth noting that if the FCO changes its advice and restricts travel to a destination resulting in your flight being cancelled, change fees don't apply in this particular scenario.

If the FCO advises against travel and your flight is cancelled, then you are entitled to either a full refund, a free replacement flight to your final destination, or a free replacement flight at a later date (for example, once the travel restrictions have been lifted).

To give you a helping hand we've put a coronavirus travel guide together which includes tips if your holiday destination is affected, as well as what to do if there's an outbreak during your getaway.

We've also got a separate guide on what travel insurance covers .

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