Urged by many national governments and industry players to relax European rules on the rights of passengers and travellers (see EUROPE 12478/4), the Commission has not given in: passengers will continue to be able to demand cash refunds for flights or stays cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to recommendations published on Wednesday 13 May by the European institution, carriers and tour operators will continue to be obliged to inform travellers of their right to a refund and to make such refunds upon request by a customer.
Aware of the financial difficulties currently faced by airlines and travel professionals, the Commission nevertheless recommends that measures be taken to make vouchers an “attractive and reliable” alternative to reimbursement.
“Encouraging” consumers to accept vouchers
First of all, it calls on States to set up a system of protection for bonds, to ensure that customers can be reimbursed in the event of the issuer’s insolvency.
In addition, it recommends, for example, that unused or partially used vouchers should be redeemable within 14 days of expiry, that their validity be extended to a wider range of services, and that their value be higher than the amount of the original payment.
Finally, consumer organisations are invited to “encourage” travellers to accept vouchers that make them more reliable and attractive. This is to “show solidarity with the hard-hit sector”, a European source stressed.
However, this position does not satisfy European airlines, who estimate the total amount of refunds due by the end of May at €9.2 billion. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as several European organisations expressed their disappointment and denounced “a regulation which was never designed to deal with mass cancellations caused by a global pandemic”.
States called to order
However, some States, considering the economic situation too critical, did not wait to authorise their operators to systematically provide vouchers (see EUROPE 12478/4).
According to one European expert, the Commission has already identified 12 states infringing the provisions on package tours and two states infringing the air passenger rights regulation. A number of other states also reportedly permit some infringements.
“It’s up to the States to make sure their companies obey the law. If this is not the case, infringement proceedings will of course be launched”, Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean told the press.
Before that happens, however, “the types of cases” and the “volume of this phenomenon” in each State will have to be assessed, she said.
For the time being, Ms Vălean and Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders have simply sent all Member States a “letter of explanation” detailing their suggestions.
To view the recommendations: https://bit.ly/3dN2XOV (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)