Press releases

This week will be crucial for European travellers’ rights as ministers discuss at the EU Council meetings how to support the tourism and transport industries during the COVID-19 crisis. Across Europe, airlines and travel operators have been openly flouting EU consumer law, refusing to reimburse consumers for cancelled travel, while many European governments have turned a blind eye or adopted national laws to impose vouchers or postpone reimbursement claims.

BEUC welcomes a call today by European Commissioner for Justice, responsible for consumer protection, Didier Reynders, for Member States to work on solutions to address the problems of the travel and tourism industry due to COVID-19 but to respect European consumers’ rights.

Consumers are facing enormous economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 health crisis. They are under increasing pressure due to job losses and are worrying about how they will pay their bills. At the same time, BEUC members across Europe are being inundated with consumer complaints about their travel rights being undermined.

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said today that supporting a travel sector deeply hit by the Coronavirus crisis and upholding consumers’ rights in case of cancellations should not be a trade-off. In order to mitigate the economic impact of the Coronavirus travel bans and lockdowns, some EU Member States are considering measures to help package travel operators who may face reimbursement claims due to cancellations.