Free rebooking of Brussels Airlines flights extended until end of July

Free rebooking of Brussels Airlines flights extended until end of July
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

People who booked a flight with Brussels Airlines and all other airlines from the Lufthansa Group after August 2020 can continue to rebook for free until 31 July 2021, the company announced on Tuesday.

The date or destination of a flight booked with Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings should be changed without a rebooking fee until the end of May, however, the offer has now been extended due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis and the travel restrictions which resulted from it.

Travel dates can be postponed up to one year after the originally planned travel date, and after 31 July, one more rebooking is possible free of charge for short, medium, and long-haul routes, the company confirmed in a press release. 

The company added that people who have not yet pinned to what exact date or destination they want to change their original trip, can first cancel their booking and then make a new one by August 31, 2021, as long as the departure date is before July 31, 2022.

The ban on non-essential travel to and from Belgium was lifted on Monday 19 April, however, all travel for non-essential reasons remains strictly discouraged.

A strict follow-up system of testing and quarantining replaced the ban: those coming back from the red zone have to go into quarantine and have to be tested on the 1st and 7th day of their return, whilst people travelling within the EU will have to fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF), which police will use to check who fails to submit to testing on return.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stated this system would remain in place until Belgium can switch to using the EU’s Digital Green Certificate, commonly known as a “vaccination passport".

Belgium will participate in the first pilot phase of the certificate which will allow travellers throughout the EU to prove that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, have a recent negative PCR test, or have built up immunity following infection with the virus.

For the Member States that have the technical homework in order, the Commission hopes that the system can become operational on 1 June. By the end of June, it should also be in use in the others, if everything goes according to plan.

This week, the European Parliament, Commission and Council are expected to meet to discuss the certificate and its implementation.


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