As summer approaches quickly, warnings have been given to travel companies about their legal obligation of refunds for holiday goers, if their trips get cancelled due to Covid uncertainties.

The government has recently said that holidays abroad can resume from May 17th as lockdown restrictions continue to ease. 

However, the holiday locations are following a traffic light system with restrictions in place to increase Covid safety, and after last summer’s last-minute changes on safety precautions and quarantine periods, there are fears that this summer could follow suit.

The Competition and Markets Authority had taken action against five big holiday firms and had now been forced to refund a collective huge total of £200m.

EasyJet has said in a statement that the company will not operate any flights or holiday packages to the “red” list of destinations as a safety precaution.

Many holiday goers have deferred their trips for a later date, although some believe that their summer holidays can still go ahead.

Last year, the competition watchdog received over 23,000 complaints regarding cancelled holidays and flights.

To avoid history repeating itself this year, the CMA chief executive, Andre Coscelli told the BBC, “We expect all firms to give clear cancellation options and will consider appropriate steps if we see companies breaking the law by refusing or delaying refunds this summer.”

By Morgan Fotheringham