We know that COVID-19 has had a particularly big impact on student travelers as many students abroad have been asked to cut their trip short and come home. We’ve been getting questions from students and university staffers around what actions students can take regarding travel.

Here are a few helpful tips:

If you (or someone you know) are currently traveling abroad and need to get home immediately:

Travel providers are experiencing record-high call and message volumes right now, so wait times on the phone have been several hours long at some points. If you or someone you know needs to get home immediately, consider booking a new ticket online through Studentuniverse.com or you can email david.sanderson@studentuniverse.com to get help booking a ticket from a booking representative (new bookings only). We currently have discount flight deals exclusive for students that you won’t find elsewhere. 

Once you’ve gotten where you need to go, you can then call or message to work out refund options for your original flight.  Each airline will have its own policy about changes and cancellations and as COVID-19 continues to spread, we are seeing more airlines offer flexibility around changing and canceling flights. 

If you are a university staffer looking to get a group of students home right away:

StudentUniverse currently has group travel specialists available to help with group bookings.  You can contact one of them at 801-351-3279. 

If you are a student wondering about booking future travel:

Many airlines are offering to waive change and/or cancellation fees for flights booked in the next few weeks to provide you with protection and flexibility with upcoming travel plans. Now is a good time to book a flight for future travel – not only can you take advantage of great student pricing on studentuniverse.com – if your travel needs to change for any reason most airlines are offering one free change for up to a year.  You can find a list of airlines offering flexible policies here.

For additional information regarding travel and COVID-19, see our FAQ page here.