The coronavirus pandemic has caused huge problems for airlines, most of whom have had to ground most or all of their fleets. LATAM is no exception. The group has suspended 90 per cent of international flights. These decisions have resulted in millions of passengers wanting refunds for their cancelled flights.
What should I do?
Bear in mind that that all airlines are overwhelmed by the current situation, and so will be working through hundreds of flights with tens of thousands of passengers.
In these circumstances all aviation call centres, no matter how many extra staff they employ/contract with, are experiencing difficulties responding at the busiest time they have ever experienced. Only call the helpline if you are meant to be travelling in the next three days.
If your flight is not for this week or next week, it may make more sense to wait a few weeks until the airlines have sorted our resourcing issues in call centres and also improved their online refund procedures. LATAM is also sorting out urgent repatriation flights.
For general advice on claims, including EU261 claims, see
LATAM has cancelled my flight. What are my options?
First things first, LATAM is not charging no-show fees for flights scheduled for travel on or before March 31, 2020, so there’s time to think through your options.
If your flight is on or after May 1, 2020, however, you must call up before the departure date to make any changes or request credit.
Am I entitled to a refund?
This depends on your ticket.
All passengers with bookings cancelled due to coronavirus can request a refund of their ticket, boarding fees and any additional service charges purchased with money, miles or LATAM Pass Points via this refund request form.
If you purchased your ticket through a travel agency or travel website, you must contact them directly to request any refunds.
Postponing your flight
LATAM is currently waiving change fees but has two different policies:
Flights affected by cancellations, border closure restrictions and/or state of emergencies due to the Covid-19 pandemic:
For flights booked between March 17 and May 31, 2020, visit the website to change your ticket for future travel up to December 31, 2020.
You can change the date without incurring a change fee, provided that it’s to the same destination and in the same cabin class.
If your booking has not been cancelled but you do not wish to travel:
You can reschedule your flight without penalties until December 31, 2020, BUT fare differences will apply in this case. This applies to the following bookings:
- Tickets bought on or before March 14, 2020, for travel before April 30, 2020.
- Tickets bought between March 15 and March 31, 2020.
Can I claim on my travel insurance?
Possibly, depending on when you booked your flight – and also when you took out your insurance. See the following article for advice on that.
PLEASE DO NOT include your booking references, ticket numbers or names in the comments below. These contain personal information and should not be put on public forums. We are trying to XXXX these out when we see them, but we are not the airline, and this is a public website.
