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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Going on holiday tomorrow but poorly kids!!!

328 replies

Asvan · 17/04/2019 22:12

Hi everyone

We are due to go on holiday to Turkey tomorrow but two out of my three kids have fallen Ill today. They both have sore throats and temperatures and have not eaten or drank much today. One of them has just complained that he feels sick.

We have been looking forward to this holiday for six months but I really don't want to take them in this state. Our flights are at 2pm tomorrow and I really don't know what to do. I need to think of a plan b just incase we have to end up cancelling.

Our flights are booked with easyjet and we do have travel insurance, what could my options be if I do cancel? I have only paid for one nights hotel stay and the rest would be paid on arrival.

Will my insurance company pay out? I feel like they both have some kind of virus but the last thing I want to do is take them abroad and be stuck in a hotel room.

OP posts:
AmIRightOrAMeringue · 17/04/2019 22:38

You need to look on easyjet website for policy not mumsnet! Most cheap flights are non refundable so unless you've got the premium flexible tickets you would normally lose the money on the first flights (that you have to claim on insurance) and have to pay out to book other ones

englishdictionary · 17/04/2019 22:39

What's easyjets policy if i rebooted for another date in future.

Ask easyJet.

Don't mean to be rude or blunt but no one here can tell you the answer.

Your Insurance policy will be specific to you. They will tell you what you need to make a claim.

Your flights may or may not be transferable, again, they will be specific to your booking.

You need to contact:

Insurers

Airline

TheNoodlesIncident · 17/04/2019 22:39

If they want to go on holiday but are admitting they feel sick, as well as the concrete symptoms like temperatures and sore throats, I would be anticipating cancelling and being up in the night with the sick bowl. Sad

Even if you did go (and made other people on the plane ill), you wouldn't enjoy the holiday. Better to get GP's letter advising against and try again another time.

Original poster
Asvan · 17/04/2019 22:39

OK but the problem is our flight is at 2pm and we live two hours away from the airport. We were going to set off at 9am- this is the time that the doctors surgery opens.

Will I just have to make the call and hope the doctor agrees with my reasons for not taking them?

OP posts:
mando12345 · 17/04/2019 22:40

To claim from insurance you need to get a letter from the doctor saying they are unfit to travel. You need to contact the airline, hotel and anything else you have booked to say you're not coming. It's not a big deal to claim on the insurance then you can rebook.

Noonooyou · 17/04/2019 22:41

For a sore throat and temps I would go too. If either are sick then I guess that changes things.

PineapplePatty · 17/04/2019 22:43

I'm not so sure that a GP will write a note for a cold and say they aren't fit to fly.

EastEndQueen · 17/04/2019 22:43

Sore throat and a bit under the weather - I would calpol/ iPad then to the max and take them as they will feel better in a day or two. Very different story if they had noro!

I doubt the insurance company will pay out without a doctors note, but ask them.

BlitheringIdiots · 17/04/2019 22:44

Have just come back from a holiday where three days in my DH came down with a horrid cold and sore throat and cough. Can't say for sure was someone on plane that passed it on but.......

I know it's disappointing but that's the perils of having young children!

mando12345 · 17/04/2019 22:44

Can you go to the gp first thing, if they are ill then the gp will write the letter you need for insurance.

Greensleeves · 17/04/2019 22:45

Colds don't cause sore throats and temperatures.

Disgusted by the number of people saying they would just take them anyway. What utter selfishness.

jgjgjgjgjg · 17/04/2019 22:45

Let's be realistic here. They've got a sore throat and are feeling a bit off colour. Just go and stop over dramatising it. They'll be fine in a day or two. If not you use your travel insurance to consult a Dr on holiday.

Original poster
Asvan · 17/04/2019 22:46

I'm gutted..... I can hear one DC coughing away as I type.....

OP posts:
daffydowndilys · 17/04/2019 22:47

My DD had the same, she was over it within 3 days.

I would dose them up and go.

Mascarponeandwine · 17/04/2019 22:51

Be warned though, if you contact the gp who says you can fly, you must also declare this conversation to the travel insurer. The notes of the gp conversation will be on your kids medical records. If you don’t tell the travel insurer, any claims for illness while you’re sway (related or not), could be invalid and they may refuse to pay out.

englishdictionary · 17/04/2019 22:51

OK but the problem is our flight is at 2pm and we live two hours away from the airport. We were going to set off at 9am- this is the time that the doctors surgery opens.

Will I just have to make the call and hope the doctor agrees with my reasons for not taking

No. You make the decision based on whether they are well enough to go, not whether your doctor will help with an insurance claim.

Seriously, if they are ill you don't go. If your insurance covers you great, if not, suck it up I'm afraid.

Springisallaround · 17/04/2019 22:52

If there's 200 people on a plane, surely about 10% have colds, coughs, sickness bugs and so on in winter, perhaps even more, less in summer. There cannot be a plane in which no-one is ill! I hate getting viruses after getting on a plane, but it is pretty standard. People who get a cold or a sickness bug on their holiday have to get back again and most won't wait days and days before travelling. This is part of the risk of travelling, like the risk of going to work or anywhere in public places.

Original poster
Asvan · 17/04/2019 22:53

We are only away for a week so it would make no sense to take them if they are going to be Ill for half of it.

Worse still me or DH could catch it and then we would all be miserable. Away from home and stuck in a hotel room.

I don't think there's any way I can see the doctor first thing. Even if I do get an appointment it will be for later on in the day. I'm really not sure what to do.

OP posts:
BeardofZeus · 17/04/2019 22:53

@greensleeves

Yes they do!

From NHS

Cold symptoms come on gradually and can include:
blocked or runny nose
sore throat
headaches
muscle aches
coughs
sneezing
a raised temperature
pressure in your ears and face
loss of taste and smell

@OP calpol and a few days of no exuberant activity before enjoying the rest of your holiday. I can’t imagine cancelling a holiday for a cold! Surely that’s a gross overreaction? But speak to your insurer if it helps make a decision - bear in mind, they will get ill again - and chances are, itll be for when you rebook!!

BorisBadunov · 17/04/2019 22:55

People fly with coughs and sore throats all the time. What do you think you do when you’re going through on a business trip (majority of travelers)?

There’s nothing “disgusting “ about flying with a mild virus. If you are immunosupressed you shouldn’t get on a flight.

With just a cough and temp I would take them. Different if they have gastro - I’ve cancelled a holiday with a vomiting child.

ImPickleRiiiiick · 17/04/2019 22:56

Those are literally the two symptoms that I get everytime without fail and tell me I have a cold... always have been

DesparateDino · 17/04/2019 22:57

Bless them. Dd and me have got this bug at the moment, the cough is awful. It is relatively short lived , but I wouldn't want to take them if one was vomiting.

Hope there is a miraculous recovery overnight.

LittleBearPad · 17/04/2019 22:57

They have a cough and temp. They will likely be fine. Just dose them up.

WaxOnFeckOff · 17/04/2019 22:57

I'd go, if need be they will prescribe antibiotics at the chemist in Turkey.

Original poster
Asvan · 17/04/2019 23:01

Thanks everyone. Maybe I am overreacting just a little bit as I am a nervous traveller. However, I can't think of anything worse than being ill in an unknown country and being confined to a hotel room.

Me and DH are going to see how they are tonight and then decide what to do in the morning.

OP posts: