Financial Protection
Protecting your holiday with Flight Centre
At Flight Centre, we believe that planning travel should be fun and hassle-free, which is why we’re committed to taking care of you – from the moment you walk through our doors, call or email us, to the moment you return home. We’re your ‘everything included’ centre, and that’s what an unbeatable holiday experience is all about.
Booking a package holiday is all about having everything in one place, at one price, organised by one expert consultant. Simply put, it takes the hassle and the legwork out of travel planning. Most importantly though, it gives you an extra layer of what we like to call ‘package protection’.
Thanks to legislation set out by the UK government, everyone who books a package holiday is protected by Package Travel Regulations. These consumer-led rules are there to protect you, so you can book with confidence. It means that, when you book with us, we carry the financial obligation should any part of your package trip fail, and we have a legal responsibility to refund you within 14 days. These rules cover you from the time of purchase, right through to when we welcome you home.
And it doesn’t need to be a traditional holiday ‘package’ either. You can qualify for package protection simply by booking two or more different travel services at the same time. So, if you’re visiting friends and rellies and you’ve booked two different elements with us, we’ve got you covered. Here are some examples of when package protection applies:
- Flights and car/campervan hire
- Eurostar and hotel
- Flights and accommodation
- Stopover packages
- Flights and cruises
- Flights and small-group tours
It’s worth noting, however, that if you make additional travel arrangements separately, then this protection will not extend to those individual elements.
We’re happy to say that most of our holidays go off without a hitch! But sometimes, often due to circumstances outside our control, packages can fail. Generally, this will happen prior to travel, but sometimes can occur in-destination. The four main reasons for this are:
- Flights cancelled, or delayed over 12 hours
- Hotel closures
- Changes in FCDO advice – specifically advising against all travel
- Natural disasters
If your package holiday fails as per the above, it is our responsibility to rearrange or refund your trip as required. If you’re stranded in-destination, it is our job to get you home.
The Association of British Travel Agents, or ABTA, is an independent body that offers guidance and support to travel companies and customer. Unlike some of our UK competitors, we are a dedicated ABTA member, which means you have the benefit of ABTA's assistance and Code of Conduct.
Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme, but ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services. Speak to your dedicated Travel Expert about what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL certificate go to: https://www.atol.org/
We’re here to help
When disaster strikes, our Travel Experts are on hand to explore alternative arrangements, so the only thing you need to worry about is enjoying your holiday. This year alone, we moved customers affected by wildfires in Maui to holiday in Honolulu instead, and rearranged Canadian holidays so that the domestic travel ban did not ruin their travel plans. So, when you're thinking about planning your next holiday, remember: you have peace of mind booking with Flight Centre. And don’t just take our word for it. With an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot, our customers tell our story so we don’t have to – check out some of our amazing reviews:
