Catalonia riots disrupt Aussie travellers

By Nur Ashikin Vira     A major airline has urged Australians to avoid flying into Barcelona until later in the year because of civil unrest in Spain. British Airways customers who booked to fly in October have been advised by the airline to change their flights to December. Perth travel consultant George Masson told The Bounce: “We are doing this because we want to protect our valued customers and in return offer them alternatives.” The recent outbreak of riots in the capital following the Catalonian referendum has seen violence spread between protesters and police. Murdoch student Alexis Poulin was among local travellers told that her holiday to Barcelona needed to be rescheduled. She had been looking forward to seeing a football match but says that the tickets have now gone to waste. An email from British Airways to Miss Poulin, sent on October 5, says: “We would like to inform you that your original booking with British Airways to Barcelona on November 1, 2017 will be regrettably disrupted as a result of the critical situation happening in Spain. We have re-accommodated or refunded over 65 per cent of our affected customers. “We want to do more than just apologise for your disruption so we would like to offer a complimentary changing of your travelling dates from  December 2, 2017 onwards. Alternatively, you have the privilege to change your destination at no cost, but any fare difference will apply……” Student Flight Centre travel agent Victoria Synder said: “A few customers came into the centre to change their flights to Barcelona for last few weeks.” Travellers did not want to experience violence, so they were happy to change their plans. A short video: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJmJtzI4ueI]