updated March 14, 2020
With the new US travel ban in place, many people are (reasonably) concerned about their flight and travel plans. The most important thing to note is not to panic. If your flight is not within the next 48 hours, please wait to contact us for help. This will enable us to prioritise urgent requests.
US citizens in the UK, the travel ban does not apply to US citizens and legal permanent residents, so right now you will be able to get back home even after the ban begins.
This ban prevents travel for foreign nationals (non-citizens) from travelling from the UK (as well as the Schengen region). But we will work with you to get you where you need to go.
When does the US travel ban go into effect?
The travel ban on flights from the UK to the US will go into effect at midnight on Monday 16 March (EST), that’s 5am Tuesday GMT.
I’m currently in the US, what should I do?
If you are currently in the US please do not panic. If you have a flight booked with us, just keep an eye on the information coming from the airline around your flight. Please DM us on Facebook with the following information; StudentUniverse booking number, your full name, airline travelling with, original travel date and your request. Please be specific let us know if you would like to change your flight and to when, if you want to cancel and if so whether this will be for a full refund (if applicable) or for travel credit (again if applicable). We will be taking care of messages in order or priority regarding flight dates.
We understand that many of you would like to get home as quickly as possible and are working hard to make sure that can happen. If you would like to get home immediately and your original flight home isn’t within the next few days, you can always have the option to book a new flight home and deal with options from your old flight later. Right now, most flights that do have change/cancellation options are either for a partial refund or for future travel credit. We can take care of that for you as long as your flight is more than a few hours away.
I have a flight to the US coming up but I feel like I should cancel it. How can I do that?
The next steps for you depends on when your flight is. Find the appropriate time frame for you below and follow the directions. We’re getting an unprecedented amount of calls and messages right now, but we are working to help everyone as quickly and efficiently as possible.
My flight is in the next few days:
DM us on Facebook with the following information. We are currently monitoring these urgent requests and helping as quickly as we can. Send us:
– your StudentUniverse reservation number
– your full name and date of birth
– the original flight date
– the airline
– your email address
-if you are ok with cancelling for future credit let us know
My flight is next week:
DM us on Facebook and mark as NOT URGENT with the following information and hang tight. We will get to you asap and help you. Send us:
your StudentUniverse reservation number
your full name and date of birth
the original flight date
the airline
your email address
if you are ok with cancelling for future credit let us know
My flight is not until after March 30:
Hang tight! Please wait to message us until at least March 25th. We know that it feels very urgent to get things changed, but we will have the same (if not better) change and refund policies then as now. In addition, since we are so backlogged, we are focusing on the most urgent requests first, so we won’t be able to help you right away. We do apologise but we promise we will help as soon as possible.
Am I affected by the Europe travel ban?
The UK travel ban does not currently apply to US citizens or legal permanent residents of the US who are currently in the UK or Europe. This means if you have a US passport, are a US citizen or otherwise is a legal permanent resident, you will be allowed back into the US from Europe even after this Monday.
Will I get a refund on my flights to the UK due to the travel ban?
Currently, most airlines are not offering special refunds, but they are offering free changes. You can also cancel your flight with us for free and receive a travel credit to be used at a later time. *PLEASE NOTE* this does not apply to every airline, and each airline’s policies about credits, refunds and changes are different. If your ticket was eligible for a refund normally, we can help process that cancellation for you. Normal cancellation fees may apply in this case. Please check your airline policy and/or contact us directly for help with changes.
I’m currently on the phone with you guys and it’s a super long wait. What do I do?
DM us on Facebook and hang up so you’re not just sitting on hold for hours. You can also leave a callback number if you want to (but keep in mind it will be about 24-48 hours in most cases for a call back). For urgent requests, Facebook is the way to go, but please note we are helping a ton of people so we still may need a little time to get to you. The more info you give us in your first message, the faster we can help.