Changes to the European Package Travel Directive and a revision of passengers’ rights announced by the EC contrast with more-limited reforms proposed in the UK.
The EC proposes not just to clarify the rules on linked travel arrangements (LTAs), as the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is seeking in its Call for Evidence on package travel reform launched in September.
The EC has also proposed the addition of business-to-business refunds in the event of cancellations, meaning airlines would be required to refund package operators within seven days of a cancelled flight or where a “relevant service is not provided”.
More: Analysis: Europe pushes ahead on package travel reform
A new article on vouchers specifies “when a contract is terminated, organisers may issue travellers with vouchers instead of a cash refund, [provided the traveller is] informed they are not obliged to accept the voucher” and can still insist on a refund within 14 days.
The EC notes: “Organisers would be able to offer vouchers as an alternative to a refund, subject to complying with specific guarantees.”
The revised directive also clarifies that “official travel warnings issued by authorities or serious restrictions covering the travel destination or after returning are important in assessing whether unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances have arisen”, entitling the traveller to a full refund.
By contrast, the DBT’s most significant proposals include the removal of UK domestic packages from the regulations and of packages below a certain price threshold.
Abta director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge described the UK proposals as falling between a “tidying up” of the regulations and “trumpeting the benefits of Brexit”.
Last month, DBT assistant director for partnerships and consumer policy Craig Belshaw told an Abta Travel Regulations Conference: “We have the powers to make amendments or to write entirely new legislation.
“Should we have the power to change the 14-day requirement to refund if certain conditions apply . . . [and] is regulation 29, where a travel organiser can seek compensation from a supplier for refunding a customer, sufficiently clarified?”