British Airways customers hit by Covid cancellations given major extension

Holidaymakers who had their trip cancelled amid the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic will be able to rebook flights with British Airways until late next year.The major airline has extended the deadline to cash in vouchers by 12 months until September 30, 2024, giving travellers more time to spend them.

The vouchers, which were offered to people after their trips were disrupted, can also be exchanged for cash in some cases, reports Mirror Money.It comes after it was revealed in March that BA's parent company, International Airlines Group, had £533m in unclaimed vouchers.BA said 700,000 vouchers were used last year and it was sending reminders to customers who hold outstanding ones.At the time, Rocio Concha, Which?

Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: "Anyone with unused vouchers should check the expiry date, and also confirm their airlines' terms and conditions in the event the voucher remains unused – only a few airlines will issue cash refunds if this happens."The Civil Aviation Authority, the UK regulator, also criticised airlines for their initial response to the pandemic including a backlog of refund claims in 2020.The process involves three steps, according to the airline:The BA website states: "You can use either the full value of an eVoucher or some of it to pay for a less expensive booking.

If you don’t use all of it, we’ll simply send another eVoucher covering the difference."Likewise, if you book a flight that is more expensive than the value of your voucher, you'll need to pay any difference if the new fare is more expensive.If your flight was cancelled between March 9, 2020 and November 19, 2020, and you accepted a voucher after your flight was cancelled, you can swap your voucher for a cash refund.