HOLIDAYMAKERS heading for the US in the next few days are to receive a compensation package, UK tour operators have announced.

People due to take package holidays to New York, Boston or Washington before next Tuesday will be offered a free transfer or the option of cancelling without incurring any penalty.

The offer also applies to other holidaymakers taking package trips to the rest of the US and Canada - but only those due to travel before midnight tonight.

The deal was agreed yesterday at a meeting of the Federation of Tour Operators. The organisation said it would review the situation every day.

A spokeswoman for Thomson Holidays said: "This deal is just for package holidaymakers. Those travelling on scheduled flights should contact their airline."

People whose flights are cancelled by an airline or tour operator will be entitled to a refund or alternative travel arrangements.

But Britons trapped in America following the suicide attacks that rocked the country faced little prospect of making successful insurance claims.

Many holidaymakers have found themselves stranded, unable to fly from any of the country's airports, and their costs are stacking up.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) warned that a typical travel insurance policy would not cover the effects of a terrorist attack.

Barbara Soulsby, from Trimdon, County Durham, had been on holiday in Las Vegas with her husband, Charlie, and had been due to fly back to Teesside Airport, via Heathrow.

The couple are stranded at their hotel while US airports remain closed.

They were told by insurer Thomas Cook that they could not claim for the costs of accommodation and subsequent flight transfers.

Mrs Soulsby's daughter, Victoria, said: "They cannot leave the country at the moment, and it could be Saturday or Sunday before they fly, but even that is not guaranteed."

A spokeswoman for Abta said: "The majority of travel insurance policies will not cover terrorist attacks.

"If they have booked a package holiday with a tour operator and are not travelling independently, it is then down to goodwill to see whether they will provide accommodation or reimburse them."