Booking & refunds

Booking & refunds

U.S. DOT refund regulations – Serious communicable disease

U.S. DOT refund regulations – Serious communicable disease

Effective April 28, 2025, all WestJet itineraries that include flights to and from the U.S will be subject to new refund rules for unused tickets and ancillaries for guests who elect not to travel due to serious communicable disease. These changes apply to unused flight segments and ancillaries booked on a single ticket or itinerary to or from the U.S., which may include a connection or stopover of 24 hours or less on WestJet or a partner airline. This policy applies to all fare types.

For more details, please visit WestJet U.S. service disruption plan.

Your clients will be entitled to a refund upon request for any unused flights and ancillaries if they decide not to travel for one of three reasons:

  1. A public health emergency occurs, and the guest provides the required medical form indicating they have been advised by a medical professional not to travel to protect their health from a serious communicable disease.
  2. The guest has or is likely to have contracted a serious communicable disease and provides the required medical form indicating they have been advised by a medical professional not to travel by air to protect the health of others.
  3. The guest is restricted from travel to, from or within the U.S., or are required to quarantine at their origin or destination more than 50% of the length of their trip (excluding travel days) because of an international government restriction or prohibition (i.e., stay at home order, entry restriction, border closure, or quarantine notice).

For more details on the criteria that make a ticket eligible for a refund as per the DOT, please visit WestJet U.S. service disruption plan.

Supporting impacted bookings

If your client’s booking is impacted by an eligible scenario, follow the guidelines below to process the refund. Please ensure you use the guidelines that apply to your client’s situation.

Note: These policies apply to all fare types.

Public health emergency

Scenario Refund permitted
A public health emergency occurs, and the guest is advised by a licensed medical professional not to travel to protect their health from a serious communicable disease and the client’s itinerary includes a flight to or from the US. Yes, if required medical form is submitted and approved by WestJet’s Medical Desk

  • The client’s ticket must have been purchased before the public health emergency was declared in their origin or destination, and the client was scheduled to travel during the emergency.
  • Your client must submit a medical form directly to WestJet to assess refund eligibility (unless otherwise directed by the U.S. government). NOTE: If a public health emergency occurs and no medical form is required, WestJet will issue an advisory.
  • The medical form must be dated after the declaration of the relevant public health emergency and no earlier than one year before the scheduled travel date.
  • The medical form must be submitted no later than 30 days following the client’s scheduled travel departure date.
  • After receipt and evaluation of the completed medical form by WestJet’s Medical Desk, your client will receive an approval or denial email. Incomplete forms cannot be reviewed and will result in a refund request denial.
    • If the refund request is approved: For bookings made in WestJet Agent Direct or WestJet Biz, a notification will be sent to the email address on the booking if it is eligible for a refund. For GDS bookings, you will receive the following QQ messages advising that the client is eligible for a refund:

      LINE 1: Client requires refund per US DOT regs. Pls refund
      LINE 2: Visit westjettravelagents.com for refund process

    • If the refund is approved and the coupon is in USED status, please contact the Travel Support Team for assistance.
    • If the refund request is not approved: Refunds of unused fare portions and ancillaries are subject to applicable fare rules.
  • If your client’s travel itinerary includes a flight operated by another airline, they should contact them to ensure they are meeting the airline’s requirements as it relates to their medical condition.
  • If the flight segments are cancelled two hours before departure, regular fare rules apply.
  • If your client prefers a refund to original form of payment, please follow the terms and conditions outlined below.

How to process a refund (if approved)

Once your client has been approved for a refund, please follow the below steps.

Channel Action Contact details
ARC/BSP agency Email WestJet for waiver code. See below for full details on what to include in the email. TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com
  • Submit the request to TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com. Include the following:
    • Ticket number(s), guest name, IATA number, agency phone number.
  • Do not include payment card numbers.
  • WestJet will review the request and approve the refund to original form of payment or reject the refund request.
  • If the request is approved, a waiver code will be provided.
    • Process the refund in your GDS.
    • Enter the waiver code provided in your GDS refund waiver code field before refunding the ticket.
  • The fare and taxes (including YQ) are eligible for a refund.
  • IMPORTANT: Waiver codes will only be provided via email request. Please allow 7-10 business days for our team to get back to you. Once you have submitted your request, please wait for us to contact you. Submitting multiple requests or asking for updates will further delay processing.

All requests received or processed outside our terms and conditions are subject to an Agency Debit Memo (ADM).

Guest contracts communicable disease

Scenario Refund permitted
The guest has or is likely to have contracted a serious communicable disease and is advised by a medical professional not to travel by air to protect the health of others. Yes, if required medical form is submitted and approved by WestJet’s Medical Desk

  • A public health emergency does not need to have been declared.
  • The client must submit a medical form to assess refund eligibility.
  • The medical form must be submitted no later than 30 days following the client’s scheduled travel departure date.
  • If or when the guest decides to travel, it is advised to follow up with their medical professional to discuss whether they should travel if they are sick or unwell before departure. All guests who appear sick or unwell at the airport may be subject to medical screening at the discretion of WestJet agents or cabin crew. 
  • After receipt and evaluation of the completed medical form by WestJet’s Medical Desk, the client will receive an approval or denial email. Incomplete forms cannot be reviewed and will result in a refund request denial.
    • If the refund request is approved: For bookings made in WestJet Agent Direct or WestJet Biz, a notification will be sent to the email address on the booking if it is eligible for a refund. For GDS bookings, you will receive the following QQ messages advising that the client is eligible for a refund:

      LINE 1: Client requires refund per US DOT regs. Pls refund
      LINE 2: Visit westjettravelagents.com for refund process

    • If the refund is approved and the coupon is in USED status, please contact the Travel Support Team for assistance.
    • If the refund request is not approved: Refunds of unused fare portions and ancillaries are subject to applicable fare rules.
  • If your client’s travel itinerary includes a flight operated by another airline, they should contact them to ensure they are meeting the airline’s requirements as it relates to their medical condition.
  • If the flight segments are cancelled two hours before departure, regular fare rules apply.
  • If your client prefers a refund to original form of payment, please follow the terms and conditions outlined below.

How to process a refund (if request is approved)

Channel Action Contact details
ARC/BSP agency Email WestJet for waiver code. See below for full details on what to include in the email. TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com
  • Submit the request to TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com. Include the following:
    • Ticket number(s), guest name, IATA number, agency phone number.
  • Do not include payment card numbers.
  • WestJet will review the request and approve the refund to original form of payment or reject the refund request.
  • If the request is approved, a waiver code will be provided.
    • Process the refund in your GDS.
    • Enter the waiver code provided in your GDS refund waiver code field before refunding the ticket.
  • The fare and taxes (including YQ) are eligible for a refund.
  • IMPORTANT: Waiver codes will only be provided via email request. Please allow 7-10 business days for our team to get back to you. Once you have submitted your request, please wait for us contact you. Submitting multiple requests or asking for updates will further delay processing.

All requests received or processed outside our terms and conditions are subject to an Agency Debit Memo (ADM).

Guest restricted from travel

Scenario Refund permitted
Guest is restricted from travel to, from or within the U.S. or is required to quarantine more than 50% of the length of their trip (excluding travel days) because of an international government restriction or prohibition (i.e., stay at home order, entry restriction, border closure, or quarantine notice): Yes. Proof of the applicable government advisory must be provided.

  • Your client must provide an applicable current government order or other document demonstrating why they are prohibited from travel to, from or within the U.S. as scheduled, or how they are required to quarantine for more than 50% of the length of their scheduled trip at the destination (excluding travel dates) as shown on their itinerary.
  • The calculation of quarantine time excludes travel days.
  • The client’s ticket must be purchased before a public health emergency was declared for their scheduled origin or destination. If there is no declared public health emergency, their ticket must be purchased before the government prohibition or restriction applicable to their origin or destination was imposed.

How to request a refund

Channel Action Contact details
ARC/BSP agency Email WestJet for waiver code. See below for full details on what to include in the email. TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com
  • Submit the request to TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com. Include the following:
    • Ticket number(s), guest name, IATA number, agency phone number.
  • Do not include payment card numbers.
  • WestJet will review the request and approve the refund to original form of payment or reject the refund request.
  • If the request is approved, a waiver code will be provided.
    • Process the refund in your GDS.
    • Enter the waiver code provided in your GDS refund waiver code field before refunding the ticket.
  • The fare and taxes (including YQ) are eligible for a refund.
  • IMPORTANT: Waiver codes will only be provided via email request. Please allow 7-10 business days for our team to get back to you. Once you have submitted your request, please wait for us contact you. Submitting multiple requests or asking for updates will further delay processing.

All requests received or processed outside our terms and conditions are subject to an Agency Debit Memo (ADM).