Will I still be able to go on holiday after Brexit?

Q My wife and I are booked on a European TUI fly-cruise in early April for our 40th wedding anniversary. I have tried asking TUI a simple question: in the very unlikely event we are stopped from travelling after Brexit, will I be refunded?

Local sales staff are simply unable or unwilling to tell me! We have annual travel insurance with LV but I do not want to find TUI and LV both direct me to each other if it all goes wrong. So what is the answer?

Simon W

A It amazes me that staff working for the UK’s biggest holiday company, TUI, have not been briefed about the straightforward answer to your very reasonable question. They should be able to tell you in an instant. But if the firm is having problems doing so, let me help: in the event that the holiday cannot proceed, you would be entitled to a full refund from TUI under the package travel regulations (ironically, perhaps, an EU-imposed law). It is not an insurance issue.

However, as you surmise, it looks highly unlikely that the trip will be cancelled. In mid-November, the European Commission said that it would allow UK-EU flights to continue after 29 March 2019, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. So planes will not be grounded – though I wouldn’t rule out a little short-term disruption as the aviation industry adjusts to the UK being a third country and surrendering all its “open skies” rights.

In terms of the cruise element, I have not seen anything to suggest that Brexit will affect planned operations (at least in the short term). So there is every prospect your trip will go ahead as booked. And if it doesn’t, you know your money is safe.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder