Who Pays for a Ruined Vacation?

Thanks, Valerie, I missed that article yesterday. I have great empathy for those affected by this weird event. The unprecedented events just keep piling up. Don’t they? We have an annual insurance policy that would help in such circumstances, but the advice on allowing adequate time is well-heeded.

It was a very interesting article as well as informative.

Just goes to show how complicated taking. a vacation can be.

What I thought was most interesting about the article is their analysis that only one travel insurance policy would have covered the event. According to the article the typical travel insurance policy covers only specific enumerated events and power outage at an airport is not usually included. Something to consider.

I wonder if there is "pilot forgot his passport" insurance.

This article was interesting and important. Thank you Valerie.

A couple years ago we spent 5 weeks in New Zealand. After the trip was completely planned and accommodations booked, I started to hear about ferry cancellations. There is a ferry which connects the north and south islands. It doesn't cancel frequently, but enough, and when they cancel its typically due to weather which can last a couple days AND then it can take days to get on another ferry. Our trip was essentially a road trip staying just a few days, a couple times just a day in each location, as we covered the islands. If the first few days or week after the ferry are missed, it either throws the entire itinerary off or the traveler is left to rebook 2-3 weeks of accommodations, or a long travel day to get to the booked accommodation for that day.

Further, we had the ferry scheduled twice during the trip since we were flying in and out of Auckland.

In the end, we decided to keep the itinerary we had developed and watched and worried. Ferry cancellations happen less often, we're told, in summer which is when we traveled. We were lucky, both our ferry trips were beautiful, but if/when we go back, I think we'll structure the trip without the ferry. Accommodations need to be booked far in advance, especially for summer, so its not like travelers can "wing it".

I guess it really pays to study the trip insurance policy and then study it again, but it seems like a lot of these more rare situations are not covered by trip insurance anyway. I'm curious and will take a look at whether the credit card insurance policies would cover a situation like this.

Valerie, thank you for making this very useful article available to us.

Bostonphil7, yes taking a vacation can definitely get complicated.
Laurie Ann, yes, I too found it interesting that only one travel insurance policy covered the impact of the Heathrow disruptions.
Allan, yes, good luck filing a delay claim due to the pilot having forgotten his passport! That pilot will never live that down!

Luckily the airlines might give you a voucher for £15 so then you can go crazy for food during your now long long wait. Since not their fault they probably don’t even have to give you that.

Seems to be behind a paywall. Are you able to give a few details like which travel insurance would cover this? Would be so helpful. Thanks Valerie!

Luv2Travel, I read the article. Its unlocked and wasn't behind a paywall.

Jules m, thanks for relaying your experiences with that unpredictable ferry on that trip. So another factor to take into account is how reliable a given transportation mode is and how frequently does it run on a daily basis - and are there any backup options. I guess that a given mode of transportation can sometimes end up being the weakest link in one’s trip plan (through no fault of one’s own).

Luv2Travel, maybe try exiting your browser and then trying the link again?

Thanks Valerie!

I like the suggestion to "be nice to everyone" as people are stressed enough.

Jules, your story is interesting and definitely worth noting.

The article mentions the difference between flying between cities that have frequent flights vs locations that might have one flight a day or every few days (or, as they said...a tugboat, lol!!). This is a huge consideration! I went to Orkney and Shetland in 2023 and had found, thru a friend, a FB page detailing delays and cancellations on LoganAir, the only airline that serves the islands. I allowed some flex time going up and coming back but in the end it wasn't needed as all flights were on time. This year when I return I'm adding more days on to the front and back ends to give myself a cushion in case of cancelled flights.

I'm sorry for those people who missed the start of their tours and am glad that most here recommend to new tour travelers to arrive a day or two ahead of the tour start!

My annual policy (Travel Insured) would not have covered this as an enumerated event. It does have Trip Delay insurance with a catch all for Common Carrier delay that likely would pay its $200 / day maximum. Additional provisions might have kicked in if a covered delay caused me to miss 50% of the trip.

My credit card insurance might have paid a one time $500 Trip Delay benefit under a Covered Hazard provision that includes equipment failure. Maybe.

Thanks for gifting the article to us, it had really good advice.

It just confirms that you cannot plan for everything or every disaster. Remember the volcano that erupted in Iceland and because of the ash flights were canceled? We do try our best though.

The other side to this is that the airlines themselves are now going after Heathrow for compensation, the lawsuits will fly for many years.

I’m glad that people are finding the information in this article useful. I try to read any well written article that I see on how to choose travel insurance that best meets your travel needs because I’ve found that can be a complex process.