What are my rights under Package Travel Regulation 2018?
Updated
For bookings originating from the UK only, the following are your Key Rights under the Package Travel Regulation 2018:
Travelers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract.
There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract.
Travellers are given an emergency telephone number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or the travel agent.
Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs.
The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance, fuel prices) and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8 % of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs.
Travelers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate.
Travelers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance, if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package.
Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.
If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem.
Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction and/or compensation for damages where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed.
The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty.
If the organiser or, in some Member States, the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser or, where applicable, the retailer becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. We have taken out insolvency protection with flight-based packages and ABTA for non-flight based packages. You can contact ABTA – The Travel Association at 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ; Tel: 0203 758 8779 www.abta.co.uk. You can contact the CAA Air Travel Organisers Licensing (ATOL) scheme Civil Aviation Authority at Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, if services are denied because of our insolvency.
Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.