What a Time to be a Travel Advisor! - theHumm May 2020

What a Time to be a Travel Advisor! - theHumm May 2020

By Emma Moxley

March began like any normal month. I advertised in the community and theHumm that I would be presenting a “Let’s Talk Travel” seminar on March 31 at the local library with my partner from Royal Irish Tours. Snowbirds were already warm down South, and some were en route to long-term stays in Europe — Spain and Portugal being typical hotspots.

We had heard about an outbreak in China, something we would soon become all too familiar with called COVID-19. But we were far removed from the areas of concern, so it wasn’t on our radar.

Things changed rapidly. At the beginning of March, our Canadian government announced a Travel Advisory for Northern Italy. We were reading of lockdowns, hundreds getting sick and some even dying. By March 9, all of Italy was declared an area to avoid for all non-essential travel. Next, the government declared “Avoid all Cruise Ship Travel”… and then came March 13. Prime Minister Trudeau declared an Official Global Travel Advisory to avoid all non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice. This also included an advisory for all Canadians overseas to return home as soon as possible.

The news was sudden, and the impact was substantial. As travel advisors, with clients in destinations around the world and families ready to embark on their March Break getaways, we in the industry had to act fast. It’s a difficult conversation to have, but when asked “Emma, if this was your family trip, would you go?” I had to present the facts.

When the government announces “Avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada,” it means that if you travel after the advisory is issued, you are on your own. If airlines stop flying to Canada, our government does not have to bring you home. You are subject to any rules and regulations imposed by the country you are in. You are subject to whatever health care that country provides. In this case, some insurance companies immediately issued an advisory that you had ten days to leave the country before they would no longer cover health insurance claims related to COVID-19.

I told my clients that if it were me, the answer was simple — I would not take the risk. It was extremely unfortunate that people had to cancel their vacations, but the risks were simply too high.

My immediate focus was on travellers with departures in the next 24 hours that had to be cancelled. Next, I focused on clients in foreign destinations and how to get them home. Each case was unique. Borders in Europe were rapidly closing to flights from high-incidence areas. The policies of governments, airlines and tour operators changed daily, if not throughout the day. And this all affected clients of mine attempting to return home.

Changing people’s itineraries is normally pretty simple. But we faced a rapidly evolving situation. Things were unravelling right before my eyes. Italy was completely locked down; Spain was now a hot spot for COVID-19, and reports were arriving at an alarming rate of more cases popping up all over the world. I had the World Health Organization website up on one of my browsers and recall seeing 118,000 confirmed cases reported on Friday. By Monday it was over 140,000 confirmed cases. We needed to act fast.

Two of my clients (my parents, Sue and Rick) were in Malaga, Spain for a long-term stay: both in their mid-70s, one with asthma. They were my priority, as Spain was about to explode. The area they were staying in was preparing for imminent lockdown. There were already no available flights out of Malaga. The only flights were out of Madrid to Toronto via Frankfurt. I was discussing available flights with my parents over Skype with my Air Consolidator on the other line. I would propose an option, and it would be gone 15 seconds later. My mother really did not want to go to Madrid, the epicenter of the Spanish outbreak, especially to stay overnight there before the flight, not to mention the train travel to get to Madrid.

We were in a situation where thousands of people were trying to get home. We managed to confirm flights leaving Madrid on Monday, March 16. They had to board a train from Malaga to Madrid on the Sunday, overnight in Madrid, and fly out at 1pm on Monday. All looked good until my parents woke up, and the travel app I use notified them that the Lufthansa flight from Madrid to Germany was cancelled.

Panic set in for all of us. I suggested they get to the airport immediately and go to the Air Canada desk to see what they could do for them. I jumped online, to read that Germany had just closed their borders, and other countries in Europe were following suit. Airlines could not fly to these locations.

My mother texted me throughout the night and told me that people around them were buying flights online to other European countries only to find them cancelled after they had paid. Some had paid as much as $7000 for two. Booking systems could not cope with the massive influx, and the third-party booking engine was not up-to-date with its information.

After six-and-a-half hours working with three Air Canada agents at the airport, and wondering how on earth they were going to get home, the agents managed to get my parents on the only Air Canada flight leaving Madrid that day direct to Toronto. It was full, and there were nine people on the standby list, but somehow they got the last two seats. Likely, many were stranded at other airports unable to get to this flight, just as my parents had been stranded in Madrid unable to get their Frankfurt flight to Toronto.

My parents described it as a horrendous experience with many Canadians left behind. They were so relieved and thankful to the agents who helped them. These agents worked diligently, all the time knowing that they would be losing their jobs in two days. My parents happily went into 14-day travellers’ quarantine on their return.

My next priority was to reach my clients Margie and Dave in New Zealand and try to get them home. The time difference to New Zealand is GMT+12 hours, and they were near Mount Cook on a self-drive holiday with no cell reception, miles away from any airport. Not that it really mattered, since there were NO international flights to Canada available for at least three days.

Looking at flight availability from their location, the earliest I could get them out of Auckland was the 21st of March. They would have to get to Queenstown, fly to Auckland, and overnight there on the 20th for a 7am flight via Sydney, Australia to Vancouver and then to Ottawa.

Because countries were changing their border regulations, I called the Australian government line to ensure they were still allowing non-citizens to transit through. As long as they were not coming from China, Italy or Iran, the answer was yes. They could transit through but were not allowed to leave the airport.

March 21st arrived. I received an email from Margie and Dave. They were at the airport, and the flight was there, but they were being denied boarding. The Australian government had closed their borders at 9pm on the 20th. Only Australian citizens were allowed to enter, and citizens of Fiji were permitted as it was a connecting route. I asked them if there was an Air Canada agent on site to help them get another flight out, but they were not coming on duty for another three hours.

I told Margie and Dave I would call the Australian Embassy in Ottawa and ask for a compassionate clearance to allow them entry to Australia only to connect. The embassy agent said she would call me back in ten minutes. Unfortunately, our plea was denied, and my clients were left at the gate with no flight home.

I searched online and could not find two available tickets to Canada. They said there was a Flight Center Agency at the airport, and they were in line to speak to someone. They were able to get two tickets, but on different days: one on the 26th, the other on the 28th. I hadn’t thought of splitting them up, and was so glad they were able to get those tickets. I made arrangements for them to stay at the hotel in Auckland but felt really uneasy about Margie staying two days past Dave’s return. There were just too many things changing at an ever-increasing and alarming rate. There was even talk of New Zealand closing their borders, not to mention that their travel insurance was originally booked to have them return on the 26th.

Under the policy agreement, if a client is stuck in a destination, the policy automatically extends for 72 hours beyond the original end date. If Margie’s return date pushed beyond that 72-hour period, a new policy would have to be issued, and any new policy would not cover COVID-19, since it was now a known issue. I suggested she go to the airport with her husband on the 26th and see if she could get on that flight, maybe through standby. She did manage to get on that flight, and they were both home on the 26th.

It wasn’t smooth sailing though. Air Canada had cancelled 60 percent of their domestic flights, including their Vancouver to Ottawa flight. Dave got a flight from Vancouver to Montreal then on to Ottawa, but Margie was only able to get a ticket to Montreal.

I ended up renting them a car from Montreal to Ottawa as a backup plan, because I could not find any available flights to Ottawa. There was one available on the 27th, but the price was over $1000. They drove home from Montreal and self-quarantined for 14 days.

Through all of this my parent agency, Travel Professionals International, hosted two calls a day for travel advisors across Canada to keep us abreast of the changing landscape: borders closing, airlines cancelling their operations or reducing flights, cruise ships unable to come into port, tour operators offering future travel credits on cancelled trips, and insurance providers changing/amending their policies. To say TPI has been supportive throughout this would be an understatement.

This is an unprecedented situation, and the effects on the travel industry are massive. The industry will recover, and it will change. To what, we don’t know. But people will still yearn to get away, to experience new cultures, to meet new people and to have adventures. We just have to practice patience as this all unfolds. Dream today; travel tomorrow… well maybe not tomorrow, but hopefully in the near future.

Self-isolation is hard on many of us. We are social creatures. But this is the one thing we can do to try and help flatten the curve and get through this pandemic. Our Public Health Department continues to update and provide information on what we can do. Reach out to your friends and family over the phone, host video calls, do what you can to make a difference.

We are all in this together. Stay safe and healthy.

— Emma Moxley is a Travel Advisor with Travel by Emma, TPI