TUI updates regulations for all passengers, including mask and health rules

New rules have come into force from June in the first update for three years

TUI Airways has officially updated its Flight Conditions of Carriage, with the new rules taking effect for bookings starting June 5, 2026. If you booked your getaway before this date, the previous rules (from March 2023) still apply to your trip.

The update streamlines legal language, tightens health policy provisions, and explicitly outlines fees for amendments. The TUI Conditions of Carriage is the official legal contract between you and TUI Airways when you buy a flight. The rules apply to every single passenger flying on a TUI Airways aircraft. This includes people who bought a “Flight Only” ticket and people who booked a TUI package holiday (where the flight is included).

It is a dense legal document split into distinct “Articles” (usually around 15–20 pages if printed). Because nobody reads the full text while packing, it is designed to protect both the airline’s operations and outline your consumer rights. In short, they state: “We promise to fly you and your bags to your destination, provided you show up on time, behave yourself, bring valid legal documents, and don’t pack anything dangerous.”

It covers rules around baggage size and weights, ticket validlty and banning passengers. The key updates and points of focus in the 2026 conditions include:

1. Health Requirements & Mask Policies (Article 1)

While daily travel has largely returned to normal, TUI has modernised its terms to give them a clear mandate for future public health scenarios:

• Conditional Mask Requirements: The rules specify that if a local government or health authority mandates them, you must wear an appropriate mask at the airport and on board. Failing to comply can result in a refusal of carriage, and taking it off mid-flight will be treated under TUI’s disruptive passenger policy.
• Health Statements : TUI retains the right to require you to fill out a health statement prior to flying out of or returning to a UK airport. Passengers showing symptoms of a major health outbreak, epidemic, or pandemic will be denied boarding.

2. Name Corrections vs. Substitutions

• Spelling Mistakes: You can still correct genuine typos or spelling mistakes on your ticket for free, as long as TUI can reasonably verify it is an honest mistake.
• Name Substitutions : If the change amounts to transferring the ticket to an entirely different person, it will not be treated as a free correction and will incur standard amendment/transfer fees.

3. Ticket Validity and Amendment Fees

• Validity Period: Tickets remain valid for exactly one year from the date of issue.
• Compassionate Exceptions: In the tragic event of a passenger passing away en route, or a death in a passenger’s immediate family after travel has started, TUI explicitly permits the tickets of the passenger and their accompanying immediate family to be changed so they can fly at a different time.
• Voluntary Amendments: If you decide to change your flight details (date, time, or destination) 29 days or more before departure, you will face a baseline amendment charge of £50 / €50 per passenger per booking, plus any difference in the fare price, taxes, or associated fees.

Though technically part of their package holiday booking terms rather than the Flight Conditions of Carriage, TUI also launched a highly publicized Price-Match Promise. If you book a package holiday and find the exact same TUI-flight-inclusive deal cheaper elsewhere, you can claim a refund for the difference—but you must submit the claim within 72 hours of your original booking.