Update posted 24/04/2024:
The FCDO is currently advising against all but essential travel to Israel due to the current Israel-Gaza war. If you are due to travel to Israel in the coming months, we are aiming to cancel your pilgrimage with at least 4 weeks notice (and not before your airline has cancelled your flight). All cancellation notifications will be sent via email. We have now cancelled all Holy Land pilgrimages that were due to operate before August 2024. Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update posted 20/02/2024:
The FCDO is currently advising against all but essential travel to Israel due to the current Israel-Gaza war. If you are due to travel to Israel in the coming months, we are aiming to cancel your pilgrimage with at least 4 weeks notice (and not before your airline has cancelled your flight). All cancellation notifications will be sent via email. We have now cancelled all Holy Land pilgrimages that were due to operate in February, March and April 2024. Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update posted 22/01/2024:
The FCDO is currently advising against all but essential travel to Israel due to the current Israel-Gaza war. If you are due to travel to Israel in the coming months, we are aiming to cancel your pilgrimage with around 4 weeks notice (and not before your airline has cancelled your flight). All cancellation notifications will be sent via email. We have started to cancel our Holy Land pilgrimages due to operate in February 2024 with the aim to cancel all of these by the end of this week. Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update posted 03/01/2024:
The FCDO is currently advising against all but essential travel to Israel. If you are due to travel to Israel in the coming months, we will be able to cancel your pilgrimage and offer a full refund of your pilgrimage price once the airline has cancelled your flights (easyJet is now giving around 4 weeks notice of cancellation). Please view easyJet’s latest travel information for further updates: https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/preparing-to-fly/latest-travel-information. In the meantime, we thank you for your patience.
Update posted 23/11/2023:
We have cancelled all tours going to the Holy Land in October and November 2023. This is as a result of the FCDO advising against all but essential travel to Israel leading to airlines cancelling the flights. Regarding 2024 tours, we are keeping a close eye on FCDO travel advice and any updates on flights due to operate to Israel. All 2024 pilgrimages and flights are still scheduled to proceed as planned. If there are any changes to the status of your tour, we will be in touch as soon as possible. Please note that easyJet is now giving at least 4 weeks notice if they cancel your flight, we would therefore be looking to give no less than 4 weeks of notice if we cancel your tour. Please view easyJet’s latest travel information for further updates: https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/preparing-to-fly/latest-travel-information.
Update posted 10/11/2023:
We have now cancelled all tours that were due to operate in October and November 2023; all passengers should now be in receipt of a cancellation email or letter with instructions on how to claim your full refund of your pilgrimage price. We appreciate your patience during this difficult and busy time for us.
Update posted 30/10/2023:
The airline easyJet have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for all our groups travelling in November 2023. We are now in a position to cancel all tours where the return flight is on or before the 30th November 2023. We appreciate your patience whilst we talk to your organisers and priests before sending out our communication to cancel your pilgrimage and offer you a full refund of your pilgrimage price or the option to transfer to a new date with your priest next year.
Update posted 23/10/2023:
On 19th October, easyJet published that they have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv up until 7th November so we are now cancelling tours where the return flight is on or before the 7th November.
Update posted 19/10/2023:
On 18th October, easyJet published that they have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv up until 21st October. However, our easyJet booking account is showing that flights have been cancelled up to 6th November so we are now cancelling tours where the return flight is on or before the 6th November.
Update posted 16/10/2023:
On 13th October, easyJet cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv up until 19th October.
Update posted 12/10/2023:
easyJet flights to and from Tel Aviv have been cancelled up until 17th October. Please visit their website for the latest travel information (https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/preparing-to-fly/latest-travel-information).
Update posted 11/10/2023:
easyJet flights to and from Tel Aviv have been paused until 13th October. There should be another update around that time. FCDO travel advice to Israel has not changed since Sunday. Please continue to be patient and wait for further information.
Update from Israeli Ministry of Tourism spokesperson based in the UK 09/10/2023:
“As you have heard from the news, Israel is currently experiencing a Violent incursion on its southern border with the Gaza Strip and is nearing the end of its operation in making the border safe again. Although there have been rockets aimed at a wider range, the fighting is limited to the areas surrounding the Gaza Strip. There are currently close to 130,000 foreign Tourists visiting Israel & none of the Tourists staying in Israel have been targeted or harmed in the attacks.
Ben Gurion Airport is open and operating as usual & all ground border crossings are still open apart from the Allenby Bridge which will be closed for the next 24 hours. The Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) is monitoring the situation closely and are communicating all updates with the travel trade and airlines. Our commitment in ensuring that all tourists visiting Israel are kept safe and fully informed is paramount..
May God bless you, your families and all those travelling to Israel.”
Update posted 08/10/2023:
We understand the developing situation in Israel will be concerning for those due to travel to the Holy Land in 2023 & 2024. Please rest assured that we are monitoring the situation closely. During this early stage, we would like to urge calm and patience.
Today the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel) issued an update advising “against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”. It is important to note that this is current advice only and may change from day to day.
We have always followed FCDO guidelines and will continue to do so. We will issue a further update as the situation develops. Thank you for your understanding.
Our policy is to operate all the tours that we advertise. However, should we need to cancel a tour due to UK government advice you will be offered a refund or the opportunity to transfer to a later tour of the same standard at no extra cost. If you decide to cancel your booking before the tour is cancelled by us then normal terms and conditions will apply.
Insurance to cover any eventualities caused by Covid-19 is an essential part of your planning. Global Travel Insurance contains cover for cancellation and curtailment and medical expenses arising from Covid-19.
The response of governments around the world to Covid-19 is changing all the time. We strongly advise that you consult the relevant government authorities for the latest advice. The UK government has a step by step guide to travelling abroad which contains links to much of the information you will need to consider:
https://www.gov.uk/travel-abroad
The UK government also publishes specific advice for the country or countries you are travelling to:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
If, like many of our customers, you intend to travel to the Holy Land, you are also advised to read the Israeli government (Ministry of Health) guidance for foreign nationals travelling to Israel:
https://corona.health.gov.il/en/abroad/arriving-foreign-nationals/
