Omicron and travel: What new travel restrictions mean for refunds and insurance

If the new Omicron COVID-19 variant scuttles your plans this holiday season, will you get your money back? When the pandemic began some carriers adopted flexible booking options.

If you were planning to travel to another country or province this holiday season, news about the Omicron COVID-19 variant is probably driving your anxiety levels higher. Will the virus spoil your trip once again? And are you going to get your money back if you have to cancel flights and hotels?

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that there could soon be a steep rise in infections in parts of southern Africa, where the new variant was first identified. But the WHO has urged against travel bans, noting their limited effect.

Still, wary nations are rushing to impose travel curbs. In Canada, Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said on Tuesday that foreign nationals from Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt who have been to those countries over the past two weeks will not be able to enter Canada. This adds to the seven other African countries barred by Canada on Friday: South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.

Canadians and permanent residents, as well as all those who have the right to return to Canada, who have transited through these countries over the past two weeks, will have to quarantine, be tested at the airport, and await their test results before exiting quarantine, Duclos said.

So far, a handful of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases have been confirmed in Canada.

If you have travel booked over the next few weeks and months, here’s what to know.

Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), passengers aren’t entitled to much if an airline issues a flight cancellation prompted by a government travel ban. The bare minimum airlines must do in such a scenario is provide a rebooking, according to the APPR.

But Gabor Lukacs, president of consumer advocacy group, Air Passenger Rights, says if you didn’t get the service you paid for — be it a flight or vacation package — then you’re entitled to a full refund under a common law doctrine known as “frustration” of contracts. In other words: if you didn’t get what you paid for, you should get your money back. Specifically, the airline should provide a full refund in the original payment method, Lukacs says.