Ruling by German Court could put travel industry in trouble due to refund of entire travel fees

The Local Court of Frankfurt am Main has ruled that those who purchase holidays, even without a travel warning for a country, have the right to claim a refund of the entire travel fee. The decision in the statement was based on the principle “if a customer does not want to travel for fear of coronavirus contamination, the operator may have to pay back the full travel fee even if there is no travel warning for the country of destination.”

A person who cancelled a trip to Naples on March 7 this year sued to get his money back in full. At that point, there was still no travel warning for the resort but the infection rate was quite very high. The organiser insisted on the cancellation of the fee stipulated in the contract.

According to reliable reports, the Frankfurt District Court ordered that the claimant be reimbursed the full travel fee. The rationale stated that “the possibility of a certain harmful spread of the virus is sufficient” for the trip to be cancelled free of charge. The travel warning was not absolutely necessary to refund the entire fare.

The law governing the return of the tour fee was based on the travel warning of the German Foreign Ministry for refunds. Tourists could get their money back if there was a travel warning. This decision paved the way for the tourist to be able to get his full money back if he cancelled his trip due to coronavirus concern prior to the trip.