The COVID-19 pandemic has caused that the governments around the world decided to temporarily introduce travel restrictions. This meant that the airlines were forced to suspend their flights and the passengers, who had a scheduled for that time trip, received notifications about cancellation or information that the cancellation of their flights is probable. What can you do in this situation?
Cancelled flight and resignation from ticket
In response to an unusual situation, airlines from around the world have introduced new regulations for ticket changes and returns. However, you should remember that those regulations apply only to flights whose cancellation has been confirmed. What does that mean in practice?
If the airline has informed us that your flight has been cancelled, and you got an e-mail from us confirming its cancellation, then you are entitled to a refund from the airline for the unused ticket. In this case, we obtain information from the airline about possible refund options. Then, we send you a message with the refund options allowed by the airline. Warning! If your trip consists of more flights, only the canceled flights will be refunded within the COVID-19 procedure.
Example: I have a flight booked for 20th May and I received information that it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then I can decide to get a refund on special terms and in the form allowed by the airline.
If the airline has not cancelled your flight and you don’t have information from us that your trip will not take place on the scheduled date, then your cancellation will be considered according to the general conditions of the tariff and may include additional charges, or will not be possible.
Example: I have a flight booked for 20th August and do not have any information about possible changes or cancellations. If I wan to return my ticket voluntarily, I can do it on a standard basis.
In such cases, airlines may charge an additional ee for a return or change of the ticket. Some of the popular airlines (such as Ryanair or Wizz Air) offer non-refundable tickets, so in case of the voluntary trip cancellation, the money for the unused booking will not be refunded. It is worth remembering that in the current situation airlines may inform about the cancellation even up to a week before the departure. Therefore, before you decide to voluntarily cancel your flight, hold off with contacting us in this matter.
Read more about returning the ticket, i.e. resigning from the flight ticket on general terms.
Return forms
There is no uniform refund policy and each airline determines its own regulations. Usually, airlines allow for choosing from a few available options:
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Cash refund to the account – traditional refund option. In this case, the airlines, after verifying the application and calculating the refund amount, order refund of the funds to the account. Important! Because of the increased number of applications regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the waiting time for a refund may take up to 6 months or more.
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Vouchers – transfer of the refund amount in the form of a document that enables to book another flight in the period determined by the airline. Any difference between the price od the new ticket and the voucher value is paid by the passenger. Vouchers of some airlines may be used also in eSky. You will receive information about how and where you can use the voucher when you choose this refund option.
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Open tickets – exchange of an unused booking for a ticket that allows you to book another flight in the period determined by the airline (the validity period is counted since the date of issuing the original ticket). Any difference between the price of the new ticket and the value of the open ticket is paid by the passenger. The open ticket may also be used in eSky.
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Other forms – some airlines offer other forms of refund, including the points in the loyalty programs for use on the airline’s website.
Additionally, eSky customers can get a refund to the digital eSky Wallet. Thanks to that, their money will be transferred immediately in the form of top-up to use for buying any flight ticket, stay or Flight+Hotel package in eSky for 24 months.
Change of the flight date
Except for returning the ticket, airlines allow for a change of the flight date. The possibility of changing the flight date also depends on whether the airline cancelled your flight.
In case of the voluntary change of ticket date, when the airline did not inform about cancelling your flight, such a change usually involves additional costs or even comes down to buying a new ticket, without any refund for the unused booking.
However, if your flight has been cancelled and the airline provided proper information, then the change of the flight ticket date is possible. In such cases, airlines usually do not charge any additional fee,, but only require to pay the price difference, if the new ticket is more expensive than the original one. Warning! Airlines have strictly defined rules of changing the flight date and may apply numerous restrictions, including the inability to change the flight route.
Refund for Flight+Hotel package
If your travel is cancelled, we will inform you about it. You will receive a refund within 14 days, using the same method that was used to make payment. We will send you information about making the bank transfer via e-mail.
When and how to contact eSky?
Do you have any questions concerning returns and flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Check our FAQ to get your answers!
Due to the current situation and a large number of inquiries, we have decided to temporarily disable our hotline and redirect service to our contact form. Thanks to that, we were able to speed up the processing of applications from our customers.
Remember! If your trip is to start later than in 7 days, please wait until you contact us. If your trip has been cancelled or we have received information from the airline about the schedule change, we will inform you about it immediately.