Travel organisers are required to assist customers stranded overseas due to Covid-19 and may be liable to some additional costs for accommodation, a travel law expert has warned.
Claire Mulligan, partner at law firm Kennedys, confirmed tour operators and agents acting as travel organisers “have a responsibility to look after people overseas”.
She noted the extent of liability for costs due to “unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances” under the Package Travel Regulations was confirmed following the Icelandic ash cloud of 2010.
Mulligan told the recent Abta Travel Law Seminar: “If you’re unable to get people home because of unavoidable circumstances you have to pay ‘reasonable’ costs of accommodation for no more than three nights. You’re not forced to pay for three nights if they could get back sooner. [But] you have a duty to help people get back – the assistance point is critical.”
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She noted: “There is no three-night limit for customers of reduced mobility, pregnant women or unaccompanied minors.”
Mulligan cited a recent court ruling which saw £10,000 plus costs awarded against a travel organiser which took a £3,500 family booking to Abu Dhabi then arranged the wrong visas and failed to note a child did not have the required six-months on their passport.
She said: “It’s a damaging judgement and perhaps shows the way courts will be looking at Covid requirements.”
Another industry lawyer warned that agents should be advising clients to take out comprehensive travel insurance, check what is covered and avoid low-priced policies.
Alex Padfield, director at Hexstalls Law, said: “Insurance policies are not always clear, [but] customers need to look in detail at the cover.”
Padfield identified three types of customer insurance currently on the market – low-priced standard policies which exclude Covid cover, policies covering Covid-19 medical expenses “but not much else”, and “wider-ranging cover but with a large degree of variation”.
He noted: “Almost all policies cover for a positive Covid-19 diagnosis pre-departure. Some cover if NHS Test and Trace notify you to self-isolate. Some cover denied boarding. Some cover if a GP says ‘don’t travel’, and some cover if you can’t have a second vaccine dose due to illness or allergy.
“Most will cover if FCDO advice changes. Policies don’t yet refer yet to red, amber or green. [But] we have to see what happens. Most policies cover medical expenses and repatriation. Some will cover if there is lockdown in a country or the border closes.”
But he said: “If a customer is disinclined to travel, policies won’t cover them. If quarantine is introduced on their return to the UK, there is no cover anywhere for that. If you travel against FCDO advice, most policies won’t cover anything.”
He advised organisers: “Tell customers to shop around and make sure they get comprehensive cover. Consider requiring them to have cover.”
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