Aer Lingus and Ryanair announce fee waiver for flight changes 

Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have announced that they will waive the flight change fees for customers who wish to change their travel plans due to the current Covid-19 outbreak.

The decision was first announced by Aer Lingus and the airline stated that it applies to customers with flights booked for March, April and May.

Passengers, who booked their flights before March 6 will now be entitled to change their bookings as of 3pm today, without incurring change of flight fees. If there is a fare difference between the two flights, it will still apply, however.

“We’re updating our systems to extend our flexible change policy to existing bookings,” Aer Lingus said. “From 15:00 GMT today, online bookings made before 06 March for travel in March, April or May will not be subject to change fees. Fare difference may apply.”

The airline also said it is experiencing a high volume of queries at present.

“We understand that many of our guests’ travel plans are uncertain at the present time, and we appreciate your patience while we update our systems to allow for this policy to take effect,” they stated.

Customers can amend their booking via the ‘Manage Trip’ section on aerlingus.com.

Likewise, Ryanair say passengers will not be charged change fees if they amend their travel plans.

“From today until Tue 31 Mar, Ryanair will waive the flight change fee for customers who wish to change their travel plans due to the current Covid-19 outbreak. This policy applies to all existing and new bookings,” the airline said. “While customers will still need to pay the difference in fare when changing a flight, we believe removing the change fee will provide flexibility.

“This does not apply to customers affected by flight cancellations as they are entitled to a refund or a free move onto an alternative Ryanair flight.”

Customers can amend their booking via the ‘Manage Booking’ section on ryanair.com