Booking Terms and Conditions
Please read the following “Booking Terms and Conditions” carefully, as they contain important information about your legal rights, remedies and obligations. You must not make any booking unless you understand and agree with the following Booking Terms and Conditions.
By making any booking, you agree to comply with and be bound by these Booking Terms and Conditions. These Booking Terms and Conditions apply to any bookings you make with our consultants (in-store, over the phone or by email) as well as online bookings you make on our website.
We will rely on the authority of the person making the booking to act on behalf of any other traveller on the booking (regardless of whether other travellers have made separate payments) and that person will bind all such travellers to these Booking Terms and Conditions.
1. Passports & Visas:
All travellers must have a valid passport for international travel and many countries require at least 6 months validity from the date of return. For travel to the European Union travellers must have a passport that was issued less than 10 years before the date they enter the country and is valid for at least three months after the day they plan to leave. Some countries also require a machine-readable passport and/or unstamped available pages. When assisting with an international travel booking, we will assume that all travellers on the booking have a passport which is valid for the relevant destination and transit point. If this is not the case, you must let us know. It is your responsibility to ensure that all travellers have valid passports, visas and re-entry permits which meet the requirements of immigration and other government authorities. Any fines, penalties, payments, delay, or expenditures incurred as a result of such documents not meeting the requirements of those authorities will be your sole responsibility (except to the extent caused by fault on our part). We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements. If you need information regarding visas, passports, and other travel document requirements for the trip, please contact us. We can provide you with general information on visa and passport requirements that apply to international travel bookings you make with us. We can also obtain more specific information from an external visa advisory service provider on your behalf (if you wish, we can obtain visas for you through this external service and fees will apply). We do not warrant the accuracy of visa and passport information provided by any external service and accept no liability for any loss or damage which you may suffer in reliance on it (except to the extent caused by fault on our part).
For travel to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the United States from the UK please be advised that there are compulsory pre-registration requirements for visa waiver programs. If you have registered before, please check your registration is valid and has not lapsed. Please note, you may not meet the eligibility requirements and may be required to obtain a visa.
If you are travelling to the UK, you may need to get an electronic travel authorisation (UK ETA) prior to travelling to the UK. If you need more information about the UK ETA, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta?hidemenu=true. If you are travelling to any country in the European Union (including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), you may need to get an ETIAS travel authorisation prior to travelling to any such country. If you need more information about the ETIAS, please visit https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/what-etias_en.
If you are travelling to South Africa with a person under the age of 18 you will be asked to show the child’s full unabridged birth certificate. There are additional requirements if the child is travelling with only one parent, with neither biological parent, or unaccompanied. Failure to provide this information on check in will result in passengers being denied boarding.
It is a requirement for some air carriers to provide personal information, including passport information, about all passengers on their aircraft. The data will be collected when you check-in (either online or at the airport) or, in some circumstances, will be required when you make your booking.
2. Travel Documents:
Travel documents include (without limitation) airline tickets, hotel vouchers, tour vouchers or any other document (whether in electronic form or otherwise) used to confirm an arrangement with a travel service provider. Travel documents may be subject to certain conditions and/or restrictions including (without limitation) being non-refundable, non-date-changeable, and/or subject to cancellation and/or other change fees. Travel documents cannot be transferred to another person to use. All airline tickets must be issued in the name of the passport/photo identity holder. Your name on your passport, visa and other travel documents must all be identical. An incorrect name on a booking may result in an inability to use that booking, the booking being cancelled, and the application of additional change and/or cancellation fees. Please review your travel documentation carefully and advise us immediately of any errors in names, dates or timings. If you have booked with a consultant, it is your responsibility to collect all travel documents from us prior to travel. As a general rule your travel documents will be available for collection two weeks prior to your departure date, however this will depend on your individual arrangements. Please contact your consultant to confirm when your travel documents will be ready for collection. If you have booked online, you should retain your electronic record or you should print out and retain your travel documents as provided to you by our website (or in a follow up email we send you). Please ensure you retain the most up-to-date version.
Please ensure you read your travel documents carefully for details on baggage allowances as these can vary from airline to airline and country to country. Excess baggage (if your airline allows it) can be expensive and is your responsibility. We will not be liable for any expenses, fees, penalties, costs, liabilities, damages or losses associated with baggage allowances and excess baggage.
A flight described on your travel documents and/or itinerary as “direct” will not necessarily be non-stop. All departure/arrival times are provided by the airlines concerned and are estimates only. They may change due to air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions and operational requirements.
3. Travel Insurance:
We recommend that you take out appropriate travel insurance to cover your travel arrangements. Your insurance protection should at least include cover for cancellation, medical and repatriation expenses, personal injury and accident, death and loss of personal baggage and money and personal liability insurance. Evidence of such insurances should be produced to FCM on request. Insurance cover offered by credit card companies or reciprocal medical cover agreements are often not comprehensive.
We can arrange travel insurance for you or provide you with a quote or general information about the travel insurance options available to you.
4. Travel Advice including COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Guidance:
We recommend that you contact your government foreign affairs department for general travel advice, as well as specific advice (including safety alert levels) relating to the destination you wish to visit.
We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with the current status and updates to immigration and border arrangements during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In addition you should familiarise yourself with airline requirements around passenger safety, including the requirement for face masks and the need to produce evidence meeting airline and border control requirements in relation to a negative COVID-19 test both for transit and final destination passengers. This information is subject to change without notice and it is the traveller's responsibility to stay up to date with information in relation to the relevant airline and government policies for your transit and final destination at each of (i) the time of booking, (ii) as you approach your travel date, and (iii) immediately before travel.
You acknowledge that you are choosing to travel at a time where you may be exposed to the Coronavirus. It is your own responsibility to acquaint yourself with all relevant travel information, including applicable health risks. You acknowledge that your decision to travel is made based on your own consideration of this information, and you acknowledge and agree that you are aware of, and assume responsibility for, the risks associated with travelling at this time. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability in relation to these additional risks.
5. Health:
You must ensure that you are aware of any health requirements and recommended precautions relevant to your travel booking and ensure that you carry all necessary vaccination documentation. In some cases, failure to present required vaccination documentation (e.g. proof of Yellow Fever vaccination, proof of Coronavirus vaccination) may deny you entry into a country. We recommend that you consult with your local doctor, travel medical service or specialist vaccination clinic before commencing your travel.
Whether any medical requests can be accommodated, including (without limitation) access to power, refrigeration and travelling with the use of mobility aids, is subject to the travel service provider in their sole and absolute discretion, and will often depend on a number of factors, including (without limitation) any modes of transport and local standards at the destination. All medical requests are beyond our control. While we will include all medical requests as a file note to the travel service provider, we cannot guarantee that your request will be accommodated. It is your responsibility to follow up with the travel service provider directly either at the destination or prior to travelling where possible.
6. Prices:
All prices quoted are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or varied without notice. Prices are only guaranteed once your booking has been paid for in full. Please note that prices quoted are subject to change. Price changes may occur by reason of matters outside our control which increase the cost of the product and/or service. Such factors include, but are not limited to, adverse currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges, taxes and airfare increases. Some product and/or service prices are ‘Instant Purchase’ due to the dynamic-pricing of products and/or services and constantly changing availability, and so can only be secured if paid for in full immediately when quoted (and even once paid for in full, a product and/or service price may not be able to be secured for you, because the price (e.g. an airfare or a room-rate) may become unavailable in the short time period between payment being made and processed by us and our booking systems being able to make the booking for you due to availability or changes in the travel service provider’s booking and yield management systems). If this occurs, we will notify you immediately and provide you with reasonable alternatives or, if applicable, you can cancel your reservation and we will provide you with a credit note or refund, as soon as possible. Please contact your travel manager for our most up-to-date prices. Prices quoted by FCM over the phone or on its website are subject to change and will not be confirmed until the booking is accepted by us, and a confirmation invoice sent to you. You acknowledge and agree that we may carry out optimisation and reshopping by monitoring the market, and where available, booking or ticketing an alternative travel product or service which is more cost effective. To facilitate optimisation, you agree that we may cancel the original booking and rebook or reticket an appropriate travel product or service (where available) if cost savings are available and where the change does not impact the material terms of the originally booked or ticketed travel product or service (i.e. itinerary and dates of travel, airline, fare family, cabin, hotel) and that we may optimise more than once. If there is a change to the material terms of the originally booked or ticketed travel product or service, we will contact you directly to obtain further approval and authorisation before proceeding with the change.
7. Financial Arrangements
We work with a range of credit providers, card issuers, and payment service providers in connection with booking and paying for your travel related products and services and also in connection with the provision of any credit to you. We may share your details with these third parties to facilitate making these arrangements. The credit providers, card issuers and payment service providers that we may work with may change from time to time without notice to you. We receive remuneration through commissions, financial incentives, fees or payments, and other means including transaction processing fees, merchant service fees, or other payments or credits of a similar nature (together, “Financial Arrangements”) from Travel Service Providers, credit providers, card issuers, payment service providers or other persons in connection with travel and travel related bookings and travel products, services and/or arrangements made on your behalf or in connection with any credit which may be provided to you. We are entitled to retain, and we are not required to account to you, for any such fees, payments or credits we may receive. Further, we are not required by law to disclose the nature or value of these Financial Arrangements.
8. Our Change and Cancellation Fees:
Change or cancellation fees will apply to your booking (including online bookings and bookings made with a consultant), as per your FCM Contract or agreed fee schedule.
All bookings are made on your behalf subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the travel service provider. If, for example, a travel service provider’s terms and conditions contain a “no refund policy”, we will only be able to provide you with the remedy provided by the travel service provider (if any), which may include a travel credit supplied by the travel service provider.
9. Travel Service Provider Change and Cancellation Fees:
Changed or cancelled bookings for any reason (including by reason of matters outside your or our control) may also incur travel service provider fees, which can where reasonable be up to 100% of the cost of the booking, regardless of whether travel has commenced. Travel service provider fees may also apply where a booking is changed for any reason and when tickets or documents are re-issued. Where we incur any liability for a travel service provider change or cancellation fee for any booking which is changed or cancelled for any reason, you agree to indemnify us for the amount of that fee. Where you seek a refund for a changed or cancelled booking for which payment has been made to the travel service provider, we will not provide a refund to you until we receive the funds from that travel service provider (which may take 12 weeks, or longer, dependent upon the supplier processing time). We can only provide you with a refund once we are authorised by the travel service provider to process your refund, subject to that travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy.
10. Change or Cancellation by You:
If you change any aspect of your booking, we will do our best to accommodate your request, but it may not always be possible. All changes will be subject to any applicable travel service provider fees and FCM change fees as above, and you will be responsible for any increase in pricing that may occur as a result of your change request.
If you cancel any aspect of your booking, you will forfeit your deposit and you will be required to pay any applicable travel service provider fees and FCM cancellation fees as above, and we will provide you with a refund for the remaining funds (if any). If your deposit or booking is refundable, this is subject to FCM having received the funds from the travel service provider and/or being authorised by the travel service provider to refund your deposit or booking funds.
For Instant Purchase or non-refundable bookings, if you cancel any aspect of your booking, you will not be entitled to a refund, travel credit or other form of compensation from the travel service provider and/or FCM.
11. Change or Cancellation by a Travel Service Provider:
The following terms apply to a cancellation by a travel service provider, except in the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances (which are dealt with in sections 12 and 13 below).
To the extent permitted by applicable law, if your booking is cancelled by a travel service provider, the travel service provider will generally offer you in the first instance alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard if available (and will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or a travel credit for the full amount paid by you. Alternatively, subject to the travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy, the travel service provider may offer you a refund of all money paid by you in respect of the booking, from which the travel service provider and/or FCM will deduct any unrecoverable costs, and any applicable travel service provider fees and FCM cancellation fees as above.
“Unrecoverable costs” means all reasonable, direct and indirect costs we have incurred in relation to your booking, and includes amounts paid by FCM to other relevant travel service providers who are responsible for components of your booking and which may be non-refundable. For example, costs paid to overseas in-destination tour or transfer operators.
For Instant Purchase or non-refundable bookings, if your booking is cancelled by a travel service provider, subject to the travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy, you may not be entitled to a refund, travel credit or other form of compensation from the travel service provider and/or FCM.
12. Unavoidable or Extraordinary Circumstances:
In the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, a travel service provider may materially modify or cancel your booking as set out below.
In these Booking Terms and Conditions “unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances” means any cause outside a travel service provider’s reasonable control which could not have been prevented or avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by the travel service provider (including, but not limited to, war, threat of war, riot, civil disturbances, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, plague, epidemic, pandemic, infectious disease outbreak or any other public health crisis (including quarantine or other employee restrictions), natural or other disaster (such as volcanic ash or hurricanes or similar events), nuclear incident, fire or bushfires, adverse weather conditions (actual or threatened, including snow and fog), closed or congested airports or ports or other modes of transport, unavoidable technical problems with transport, unforeseen alterations to transport schedules, transportation disruptions or cancellations, domestic and/or international travel restrictions, changes to travel advisories and restrictions, changes to health advisories and quarantines, changes to immigration, labour and free-movement laws, changes resulting from Brexit, rescheduling of aircraft or boats or other modes of transport, changes to applicable laws and/or other government mandates (including evacuation orders and border closures), and similar events).
A material modification is one that has a serious impact on your booking and would cause substantial inconvenience to you (including a change of departure date, departure point or airport, or change of departure time of more than twelve hours).
13. Cancellation due to Unavoidable or Extraordinary Circumstances:
If your booking is cancelled due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, the travel service provider may offer you a refund subject to the travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy, the travel service provider may offer you a refund of all money paid by you in respect of the booking, from which the travel service provider and/or FCM will deduct any unrecoverable costs, and any applicable travel service provider fees and FCM cancellation fees as above or the travel service provider may offer you a credit on hold.
“Unrecoverable costs” has the meaning set out under section 11 above.
14. Taxes:
Airline taxes are subject to change and are confirmed at the time your airline ticket is issued. There may also be a local tax charged at some airports.
15. Agency:
In general, we act as an agent for, and sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport and accommodation service providers, including, but not limited to airlines, coach, rail and cruise line operators and hotels (“Travel Service Providers”). FCM does not own, operate, manage or control these independent suppliers of services and Travel Service Providers. FCM is not liable for the acts or omissions of such Travel Service Providers. FCM’s obligations to you are to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and the Travel Service Providers. We have no responsibility for these services, nor do we have the authority to make any warranty or representation regarding their standards. Fulfilment of a request cannot be guaranteed. All bookings are subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these Travel Service Providers some of which may seek to exclude liability in respect of delay and loss or damage to baggage. You agree that your sole legal recourse is against the specific Travel Service Provider and not FCM, or its affiliates, parent company, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents or contractors. A reference to “these Booking Conditions” shall mean the terms and conditions set out herein as well as all terms and conditions of any Travel Service Providers. To the extent of any inconsistency between a Travel Service Provider’s terms and conditions and these Booking Conditions, the Travel Service Provider’s terms and conditions shall prevail, save to the extent that any provision in the Travel Service Provider’s terms and conditions is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable.
16. Liability:
To the extent permitted by law, neither FCM nor any of its related bodies corporate, directors, officers, employees, servants or agents accept any liability in contract, tort or otherwise for any injury, damage, loss (including consequential loss), delay, additional expense or inconvenience caused directly or indirectly by the acts, omissions or default, whether negligent or otherwise, of third party providers over whom we have no direct control, force majeure or any other event which is beyond our control or which is not preventable by reasonable diligence on our part. Our liability will also be limited to the extent that any relevant international conventions, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, limit the amount of compensation which can be claimed for death, injury, or delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage. Under circumstances where our liability cannot be excluded and where liability may be lawfully limited, such liability is limited to the remedies required of us under applicable law. Nothing in these Booking Conditions is intended to exclude or limit our liability for death, personal injury or fraudulent misrepresentation caused by our negligence, or to affect your statutory rights.
17. Special Requirements:
Please liaise with your consultant regarding any special requirements you may have for your travel arrangements such as special meal and seating requests, room type or disabled access.
18. Frequent Flyer or Other Loyalty Programme:
When booking with one of our consultants, please let them know your frequent flyer membership details (or other applicable loyalty program details) for inclusion in your booking. If you are booking online, please insert these details in the space provided for inclusion in your booking. Please check your frequent flyer program (or other applicable loyalty program) for the specific terms of your membership. We cannot guarantee that the supplier of your frequent flyer or other loyalty program will credit you with points for your booking or provide you with any other particular benefit, including (without limitation) status credits or lounge access. It is your responsibility to check whether your booking is eligible for any such benefits.
19. Schedule Changes:
We recommend that you contact the airline to confirm your scheduled departure time 24 hours prior to your flight.
20. Privacy Policy:
We are committed to protecting your personal information and agree to handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy as published on our website at https://www.fcmtravel.com/en-gb/privacy-notice. By providing personal information to us, you agree that our Privacy Policy will apply to how we handle your personal information and you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing your personal information as detailed in our Privacy Policy. In particular, you agree that in certain circumstances (such as where you request us to book international travel for you), we are permitted to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients. Such recipients may include the overseas travel service providers (e.g. airlines, accommodation or tour providers) with whom you make a booking. These travel service providers will in most cases receive your personal information in the country in which they will provide the services to you or in which their business is based. We may also disclose your personal information to our overseas related entities and to service providers who perform services for us within and outside of your country of residence. Generally, we will only disclose your personal information to these entities and/or persons in connection with the facilitation of your travel booking and/or to enable the performance of administrative and technical services by them on our behalf. Where we disclose your personal information to any entity and/or person (including any overseas recipients), you agree that: (i) in the case of travel service providers or other recipients who are providing services directly to you, we will not be required to ensure that recipient’s compliance with applicable privacy laws or otherwise be accountable for how they handle your personal information and you acknowledge and agree that your rights in relation to their handling of your personal information are governed by the contract between you and that recipient (which may include their privacy policy); and (ii) in the case of our related entities and travel service providers who perform services for us, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that recipient’s compliance with applicable privacy laws. When used above, “disclose” includes to transfer, share, send, or otherwise make available or accessible to another person and/or entity.
21. Monies Not Held On Trust:
You agree and acknowledge that such monies paid by you to us will not be held by us on trust for and on behalf of you and we may hold such monies in any account as we see fit, including with our own and/or other customer monies. All monies paid by you to us will be the property of FCM and will be a debt due and payable to the travel service provider in accordance with the payment terms we have agreed with that travel service provider. Payment will generally be made to the travel service provider before the services to which the money relates are provided, however in some cases, payment will be made to the travel service provider once the services to which the money relates have been provided. In respect of monies paid for flights for an IATA airline, such monies might be held on trust for that IATA airline in accordance with the payment terms we have agreed with that IATA airline. In the event we are still holding the monies, we can only provide you with a refund once we are authorised by the travel service provider to process your refund, subject to that travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy.
22. Modifications of these Booking Terms and Conditions:
We reserve the right to modify any of these Booking Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. If we make changes to any of these terms and conditions, we will post the amended terms and conditions on the fcmtravel.com website, applications, or services, which are effective upon posting. The applicable terms that apply are those in effect at the time you make a booking with us.
23. Governing Law:
If any dispute arises between you and us, the laws of England and Wales will apply. You irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, and waive any right that you may have to object to an action being brought in those courts.
24. Acknowledgement:
You acknowledge that you are 18 years of age or older and that you understand and agree with the above Booking Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy.
These terms were last updated on 11 November 2025.