TUI scraps holidays until mid-May and cruises until June due to coronavirus – but it could be a lot longer

TUI have suspended all holidays for another five weeks, with all trips cancelled until May 14.

Cruise holidays with Marella Cruises have been put on hold until at least June.

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Their new TUI River Cruise, due to launch last month, will now start in November.

The UK’s biggest travel firm first paused all hotel stays and package holidays last month, stating they would be no longer available until “further notice”.

While TUI have currently cancelled their trips until these specific dates, there is a strong chance that they will have to scrap further holidays as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We are constantly monitoring the situation and will start taking people on holiday again as soon as we are able to do so.

“At this point in time, nobody can accurately predict when that will be, so for the time being we will keep a close eye on our programme and continue to amend and adapt timings in line with the latest global travel advice.”

If you have a TUI holiday booked, you will be given the option of a cash refund or the choice of an alternative holiday of the same cash amount to another destination.

The refund should include your accommodation, or just the flight itself if you only booked plane tickets through TUI.

You can contact TUI on 0203 451 2695 but advise only those travelling in the next 48 hours to call due to high volume.

The tour operator announced last month that they were cutting staff working hours and pay between 30 and 50 per cent to avoid redundancies.

They explained that the new measures are to “ensure cash is preserved, costs are controlled, and the future of our business is protected”.

Jet2 recently announced that all flights were cancelled until mid-June, while easyJet have grounded the majority of their fleet indefinitely.

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Holidaymakers are being urged to accept credit notes instead of cash refunds, or tour operators would go bust.

This could also lead to a huge £4.5 billion bill, to be paid by the taxpayer.

Some traveller have already been offered credit notes only – and been refused refunds.