Bored Panda contacted online travel agency Expedia UK to get some insight into how the coronavirus is affecting the travel industry. "At Expedia, we believe in the power of travel: to create joy, to bring people together, to enrich our hearts and minds. The entire travel industry is experiencing an unprecedented increase in service requests from customers due to the overwhelming impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)."

"We're really sorry for such long wait times due to the increase in call volumes. Every Expedia team member who can help is working to add more capacity, self-service options, and collaborating with many thousands of our global travel partners. Most importantly, we are focused on customers with travel in the next 72 hours," the Expedia representative told us.

"For those travelling now and with upcoming travel bookings, our teams are working around the clock to provide everyone the support they need. We are rapidly increasing the availability of travel advisers, enhancing our self-service options, and developing new automated ways for travelers to better manage their reservations," they explained. "Our focus is helping travelers with immediate trips, and these improvements will allow all our customers to travel more confidently in the future. If your travel is not immediate, please visit our Customer Service Portal that includes new online tools to help you change or cancel travel plans electronically yourself."

The representative also advised those people who are planning new trips to book "options with built-in flexibility like free cancellation and changes." 

"Look for the updated messaging regarding these options and other choices on our site and mobile app. We recognize that these are uncertain times. At Expedia one thing we know is that for people and communities around the globe, travel is a force for good. Whenever you are ready to travel again, please know that we are ready to serve you."

Meanwhile, some hotels in areas under quarantine are offering customers refunds or the possibility of rebooking their stay for a safe time in the future. Depending on your travel insurer, they might be able to cover various costs like hotel rooms and car hire, but this depends a lot on each company and your particular situation.

“People should keep all their travel invoices and receipts to help the claims process go smoothly,” Laura Dawson from the Association of British Insurers told the BBC.

Unfortunately, not all airline companies are the same when it comes to treating their customers well. For example, Ryanair has been accused of “ripping off passengers” when it became apparent it was charging 80 pounds more for some individuals to rebook canceled flights.

While Wizz Air was still charging passengers to rebook flights to Bulgaria and Hungary even though both countries closed their borders.

Ryanair has already grounded most of its flights and said it doesn’t expect to operate any of them in April or May. But in a surprise twist, the company will allow governments to use its airplanes for rescue and other flights. Ryanair told people not to call their customer support hotlines because they have less staff available to deal with the fallout.

Hopefully, everyone can get the refunds they deserve and we can all go on holiday when the coronavirus outbreak is suppressed. Let’s just hope our vacations then won’t be fails!