Free Covid-19 insurance is to be provided to customers of Virgin Atlantic, offering financial cover should they or a companion fall ill with coronavirus while travelling.

The airline’s new policy includes meeting emergency medical costs as well as associated transport, accommodation and repatriation expenses up to a value of £500,000 per customer.

It will also cover up to £3,000 of expenses if a customer is denied boarding a plane or held in quarantine due to a suspected or positive case of coronavirus during a trip.

Virgin Atlantic’s announcement follows the Emirates airline launching its own Covid-19 insurance for customers earlier this month, covering medical expenses of up to 150,000 euros (£135,000) if they are diagnosed while away.

All existing and new bookings for travel from August 24 until March 31 next year will have the “Virgin Atlantic Covid-19 Cover” automatically applied.

The airline claimed the policy, being fulfilled by Allianz Assistance, had “the highest value offered by any airline to date”, with no excess payment required.

Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers will benefit from the policy if their flights are with Virgin Atlantic and the policy will also apply to Virgin Atlantic plane ticket-holders where the flight is operated by a partner airline.

The announcement of the policies comes amid a summer of uncertainty for holidaymakers due to the international spread of coronavirus and changing government guidance over safe travel.

Last week, Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago were all removed from the UK’s travel corridor list.

Meanwhile, passengers arriving in the UK from Portugal no longer have to self-isolate after it was added to the list.

Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Our priority is always the health and safety of our people and customers and this industry-leading Virgin Atlantic Covid-19 Cover ensures customers can continue to fly safe and fly well with us.”

He added: “Whether it’s to visit friends and relatives or take a well-deserved break, we believe this complimentary cover will provide some added reassurance for our customers as they start to plan trips further afield.”

He said Virgin Atlantic has resumed flights to Barbados in the Caribbean and plans to resume services later this year to Jamaica’s Montego Bay, Antigua, Lagos in Nigeria and Israel’s Tel Aviv as travel restrictions are eased.