Don’t Want to Risk A Trip to the Dominican Republic? You Might Be Able to Change Your Ticket

The sun sets over the Dominican Republic while walking on the beach in Bavaro, near Punta Cana.

Tourists have been dropping like flies in the Dominican Republic, but if you have plane tickets to visit, you don’t have to worry — some airlines are waiving fees to allow cautious tourists to skip the trip and go somewhere else, though you will still have to pay the difference between the two fares.

So far this year, at least eight Americans have died mysterious deaths at resorts in the Dominican Republic. The string of incidents is causing some potential tourists to consider skipping or changing their trips. Luckily, some airlines are trying to make that easy.

Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways are both waiving change fees for passengers who want to travel somewhere else instead. You’ll still have to pay the difference in fares, but those change fees can normally top $200, so it’s still a good deal. Travelers who just want to cancel their flights and not rebook will get a full refund of their ticket, though Delta will charge a change fee when the credit is used.

“The safety of our customers and crewmembers is our first priority,” JetBlue spokesman Philip Stewart said in a statement reported by USA Today. “While JetBlue’s flights to the Dominican Republic are unaffected, we are working with the U.S. Embassy and local authorities to stay updated on developments. To support our customers, we are currently waiving change fees when rebooking flights to/from the Dominican Republic.”

The Dominican Republic, though, still maintains that nothing is going on in the country.

“There is no such thing as mysterious deaths in the Dominican Republic,” Francisco Javier Garcia, the minister of tourism in the Dominican Republic, told USA Today. “There is not an avalanche of deaths.”

[Featured Image: Flickr/ Joe deSousa]