Travel Agents Urge EU to Include Airline Liability in New Consumer Protection Rules

Travel agents and tour operators in the European Union welcomed this week a mobility package proposal tabled by the Commission which improves clarity and speeds up refunds for passengers and package travelers who booked via intermediaries but are calling for measures to also include airlines.

More specifically, the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Association (ECTAA) argues that the obligation to limit prepayments of packages is expected to drive up prices and offer minimal benefits to consumers. This, the association says, may exclude the most vulnerable from this protective scheme and lead them towards cheaper yet unprotected alternatives.

ECTAA notes that package travelers’ prepayments are already protected against the organizer insolvency. Additionally, the imposed rules may hinder organizers from offering instalment payment plans.

ECTAA stresses the need for a broader reach of package travel rules and is calling on policymakers to extend protection to standalone services, in particular to air transport. There is currently no protection when an airline goes bankrupt, they claim.

Photo source: European Commission / © Synthex/Adobe Stock

By doubling the burden on the intermediaries that do not hold consumer prepayments while offering no proposal to limit the financial exposure of travelers when booking standalone services, the Commission will contribute to the decline of packages.

At the same time, the EU proposal is also criticized for lacking the essential tools required to effectively address large-scale crises.

ECTAA is also calling for the inclusion of a rapid refund system based on fast-tracked state aid, ready for swift deployment in the face of worldwide travel restrictions or highly remote risks in the future.

“Unfortunately, when reading both the Passenger Rights and the Package Travel proposals, there is a clear imbalance between package organizers and airlines when it comes to protecting consumers’ prepayments. The package travel industry is taking the blame for the crisis during the pandemic whereas suppliers passed the liquidity crunch on intermediaries,” said ECTAA Secretary General Eric Dresin, adding that placing too much burden on travel agents will lead to fewer packages being offered and ultimately less consumers being protected.