Package holiday, who pays for new flights if flights are cancelled?

Grumpy_chap

The OP and the Travel Agent / Tour Operator may be limited in what they can do until the flight is either cancelled or the trip fails because of FCDO advice nearer the time. The difficulty is that the cost of alternatives will increase as the date of travel approaches.

Five_Pound_Note

Very grateful for everyone's comments. In answer to some Qs:

We emailed the Travel Agent with the paragraph below and asked for their response in writing. They called me instead to say they are compliant with ATOL, and wouldn't get into detail about how, they would only quote 'force majeure'. and I asked them to respond to my email, not just a call. Our email said:

"Our understanding of the Package Travel & Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 is that if the package continues, any cancellation of the contracted flights constitutes a lack of conformity (Regulation 15) and must be remedied by the organiser, including suitable alternative flights, at no additional cost (Regulation 15(11)). Regulation 16 confirms that the organiser is responsible for the performance of all services in the package, including flights provided by third parties".

We have also found this info online, when we asked: "Package Travel & Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 - if the outbound flight is cancelled, does the Travel Agent have to provide a different flight at no additional cost to the customer, even if it is force majeure?" (note: we're not looking for compensation, just the flights themselves)

"Under the Package Travel & Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, if an outbound flight within a package is cancelled, the organiser must provide suitable alternative travel, potentially a new flight, at no extra cost, even in force majeure (unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances). While compensation may not apply for force majeure, the obligation to rebook or refund remains.

Key Obligations Under 2018 Regulations:

• Alternative Arrangements: The organiser must offer suitable alternative arrangements, where possible of equivalent or higher quality, at no extra cost.
• Repatriation: If the flight cancellation happens after the trip starts, the organiser must provide repatriation with equivalent transport at no extra cost.
• Right to Cancel & Refund: If the flight change constitutes a significant change (which cancellation usually does), the traveler can terminate the contract and receive a full refund within 14 days, even if the cancellation is due to force majeure.
• No Extra Cost: Rebooking the flight to an alternative must be done without additional charge to the customer. 

If the travel agent is acting as an "organiser" (selling a package), they are liable for the performance of all services, regardless of whether they are performed by third parties like airlines"

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81943246#Comment_81943246

Most of that looks like AI slop though, rather than something reliable, or is it from a credible source? Having said that, the agent's response that "they are compliant with ATOL" is irrelevant nonsense too!

The regulations themselves are augmented by the government guidance, from which an earlier post quoted:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62dea082e90e0766afece5ee/package-travel-regulations-2018-guidance.pdf

Five_Pound_Note

eskbanker - yes, a lot of it is AI slop, I completely agree! … which is I wanted more opinions. However, it does take me through to the Regulations that you've sent, and we had already studied those thoroughly, and the way they are worded really isn't clear. Also goes to ABTA, but they just quote the regulations verbatim.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81943290#Comment_81943290

I think much comes down to the concept of the package travel contract and what's within it.

Obviously at the time of booking, you enter into a contract, which will specify exactly which travel services you're signing up for, together with their cost, and all the relevant agent and supplier terms.

If the package organiser seeks to change the terms of that contract prior to travel, then regulation 11 applies, essentially (if a significant change) obliging them to offer you a refund or alternative arrangements (with no requirement for these to be at no extra cost).

Once travel has started, regulation 15 comes into play if the services provided don't conform with the contract (as it stands at commencement of travel), so my understanding remains that this regulation doesn't apply to contract changes proposed prior to commencement, i.e. it's intended to convey the organiser's responsibilities while you're already away.

Spaceace

Interesting to note that, whether it's in compliance with the regulations or not, Loveholidays.com appear to be unilaterally cancelling holidays connecting through Middle East hubs:

…

I’m due to travel to or connect via the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan or Riyadh soon

We’ve made the decision to cancel all holidays departing up to and including 10 May 2026 to countries currently on the FCDO ‘all but essential travel’ list (UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Riyadh). This includes holidays with a connecting flight via one of these countries.

Our team has begun processing full refunds for affected bookings and will contact you directly with your cancellation confirmation within the next 2 days.

(Source: https://www.loveholidays.com/faq/conflict-in-middle-east/)

…

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81943325#Comment_81943325

Regulation 13 permits package organisers to terminate when "prevented from performing the contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" - this obviously applies for those travelling to those countries but could perhaps be challenged by those scheduled only to transit through them and who could be rerouted, although, as above, I don't believe that there's any entitlement to this being at no extra cost except where flights are actually cancelled.

Grumpy_chap

I'm confused.

At the start of the thread, the OP acknowledges that the outbound flight via Middle East is likely to be unavailable. The Travel Agent have cited force majeure and offered a refund. The OP wants a re-route.

The OP has now quoted a load of responses generated by Chat GPT (or whichever AI tool was used) and those comments confirm that the Travel Agent must offer an alternative flight at no additional cost OR a full refund.

Clearly, if the original flight cost £x and the alternative flight cost 10£x then the alternative cannot be offered at no additional cost (it would bankrupt the operator) so the full refund is the only viable option. The rules do not enable the traveller to force an absurd commercial option on the operator. [Different if it is return when re-routing cannot be avoided.]

The OP needs to either accept the full refund or continue with the trip, paying the uplift for the re-route. The rules do not appear to give the option to the traveller to force the operator to re-route at prohibitive cost versus refund.

user1977

My interpretation of the regs is that if there would be a significant increase in cost for alternative flights, then either the customer agrees to pay the additional cost, or they can cancel for a full refund. Obviously they can't insist on being rerouted at infinite extra cost to the operator (e.g. if the only tickets available are first class, which is the sort of thing I've seen on stories of finding alternative routes).

NoodleDoodleMan

"They said they would refund us, but we don't want to take this option."

If the travel agent has the option to refund, do you have the option to refuse ?

I suspect if it's an either/or obligation to refund/re-organise alternative flights etc. the TA meets that responsibity by offering a refund.

Happy to be contradicted.