SPECIAL AUSTRALIA:
To follow the updates on border protections, please visit the Australian Department of Home Affairs website. More information as well on the Department of Health website.
If you need to travel, please visit the page « Coronavirus : informations pour les voyageurs » or the advice to travellers on the diplomatie.gouv website.
The official website Service-public.fr gives some safety advice on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic that led to the cancellation of flights to China. The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs recommends postponing any travel to China which is not essential.
You wish to cancel your stay
You may request the cancellation of your stay free of charge (transport, holiday rental, hotel reservation…) as soon as you are aware of an “exceptional and unavoidable event” at the destination with important consequences on the proper execution of the contract. The tour operator must then reimburse you in full within 14 days at the latest after the cancellation of the contract. An “exceptional and unavoidable event” can cover climatic risks (cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis…), health risks (coronavirus, dengue fever, zika…) or political risks (attacks, civil war…).
The stay is cancelled by the travel agency or the tour operator.
If a tourism professional cancels a contract in the event of an “exceptional and unavoidable event” (such as an epidemic) preventing the execution of the stay, he must inform you as soon as possible and refund the full amount paid within 14 days of the cancellation of the contract. In agreement with the professional, you can also postpone your stay to a later date or choose another destination.
You wish to cancel a plane ticket (dry flight)
In principle, you cannot cancel your flight ticket free of charge if the airline maintains the flight (the airport tax is refundable if you do not board the plane). You should check whether the ticket is refundable or exchangeable and whether any cancellation insurance or credit card insurance (if you have chosen this payment option) covers this risk. However, people whose flight to China has not been cancelled but who wish to postpone their trip as a precautionary measure may request a free cancellation of their ticket due to the health situation in the country.
The flight is cancelled by the airline
An airline which cancels its flights due to an “exceptional and unavoidable event” must refund the full price of the ticket when the flight is subject to European regulations (the airport of departure is in the European Union, or the airport of arrival and the airline’s head office are in the European Union).
For other international flights, please consult the airline’s general terms and conditions of sale.
The tourism professional can also suggest another destination.
What about compensation? When the cancellation of the flight is due to an “exceptional and unavoidable event” that cannot be avoided (such as an epidemic), the airline company is not obliged to pay the lump-sum compensation provided for in the event of delay or cancellation.
Travel advice is reassessed in the light of changes in the International epidemiological situation and the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is available on the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Travel Advice website.
Please find a recap here:Informations sur le coronavirus[ fevrier 2020