Worldwide travel warning extended to at least June 14th
The extension of the worldwide travel warning until June 14th will make vacation abroad practically impossible in the coming weeks. But what happens to trips that have already been booked? Travel lawyer Paul Degott explains what rights you have and whether you should rebook or cancel your trip.
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Money back for package tours
Package tours can no longer take place until mid-June. Some tour operators had already canceled their trips by the end of May. Many are now likely to extend the cancellations to June 14. If they fail to do so, customers have a free cancellation right. Because a travel warning is a strong indication of an unavoidable, extraordinary event – and this entitles to withdraw from the travel contract without cancellation costs, Degott classifies the legal situation. The organizer must pay back any money paid immediately and no later than 14 days after the trip has been canceled.
“Most tour operators will now cancel all trips by mid-June,” says the lawyer. However, there are also smaller and smaller tour operators who put off holidaymakers – sometimes up to a few days before the booked departure. With the travel warning as an argument, guests could now insist on immediately withdrawing from the contract free of charge.
Final payment can be refused
If a tour operator requests an outstanding balance for a vacation within the next six weeks, customers can now refuse it. “Many organizers are very big with reminders,” says Degott. But the travel warning provides security: Payments for holidays beginning on or before June 14 no longer have to be made.
Rebooking or canceling?
Many promoters are currently using discounts to persuade customers to rebook instead of canceling them so that the paid money stays with the company. Tui, for example, recently offered customers up to € 150 if they opt for a credit. However, consumers do not have to accept vouchers. Legally, you are still entitled to a refund of the travel price.
Individual travelers should wait
The package travel law does not apply to holidaymakers who have not booked a travel package but, for example, only booked a flight ticket. However, the travel warning is again a strong indication that a flight cannot take place at all. “There is the right to terminate the contract of carriage without notice if it cannot be fulfilled,” explains Degott. For example, if you wanted to fly to Rome or the Canary Islands in early June, you should now wait until the airline cancels the flight on its own, Degott advises. Then the airline has to pay the money back, with many airlines currently delaying repayments. We have tips on what you can do if you are not reimbursed for the cost of the flights.
Anyone who has booked a hotel abroad should first check whether they can still cancel the accommodation free of charge. If this is not the case, the first thing to do is to contact the provider or hotelier and ask for a free cancellation. In most cases, however, the respective law of the holiday country applies.
And what applies to the period after mid-June?
It is currently difficult to foresee which international destinations can even be visited in summer – at the moment it looks like vacation is only possible for us in Germany. Most trips for this time can currently only be canceled against cancellation costs, explains the Hamburg consumer advice center. Here you have to wait and see. The same applies to flights for this period after June 14: the consumer protectionists emphasize that the ticket price will only be reimbursed if the airline cancels the flight or if the country of entry is prohibited.
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Source: DPA / RTL.de
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