Turkish Airlines has sent out a notice to agents that, due to Turkey being included in the UK’s Red List, direct passenger flights between the countries will not operate from May 12, 04h00 (British Summer Time) until further notice.
Passengers coming from the UK to Turkey or transiting through Turkey will be allowed to travel as normal.
The airline reminds SA agents that its JNB and CPT flights are still operating as per current schedule in the GDS, to the entire TK network. Passengers may still transit through Istanbul without any restrictions, but final destinations regulations will still apply.
Passengers who are affected by TK’s UK flight cancellations will have three options:
1.Tickets with departure dates to the UK only, from May 10-31 are eligible for a full refund without applying fare rules and agents are required to add ‘INV RFND DUE TO UK RESTRICTIONS’ to endorsement. The airline says there is no need to wait for GDS cancellations or sectors to be HX or UN. Refund transactions must be made within two years from the original date of the ticket.
2. Rebooking, reissuing and rerouting will be made without any charge for different booking classes, provided the new destination is in the same Iata region and in the same cabin. The new travel date can be up to June 30, 2021. Agents are required to add ‘INV REI DUE TO UK RESTRICTIONS’ to endorsement.
3.Instead of a full refund, an EMD voucher to the full value can be requested via Turkish Airlines sales offices (EMDJNB@THY.COM) and is valid for two years from date of issue. Once issued, an EMD is non- refundable.