New protections are on tap for EU travelers who buy their travel through travel agencies or whose trips involve more than one mode of travel, such as package vacations. There are also new rights in store for disabled travelers.
The changes come in new rules changes adopted earlier this week by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. The Commission cited gaps in existing rules, exposed by the stresses of the Covid era and the collapse of the Thomas Cook travel group over the past few years.
Among the key changes:
- Travel sellers will be required to share passenger contact information to carriers and other travel operators so that they can communicate updates and delays directly to passengers.
- When compensation is triggered by delays or cancelations, carriers must pay the compensation to travel agencies within seven days so that they can meet the new requirement that they pay out to travelers within fourteen days.
- For the first time, there are protections for travelers whose trips involve different types of transport. They will now be given more information on connection time and procedures, and if all the modes are on the same itinerary, they will be entitled to assistance if there are missed connections.
- Disabled passengers or people with limited mobility will be entitled to assistance in making connections from one mode to another. A single request for assistance will trigger responsibility for all transfers on the trip.
- Prepaid deposits for travel packages are limited to 25% of the total unless higher because of special circumstances, and full payment can’t be required until 28 days before the trip begins.
- All compensation claims will be able to be filed on common forms issued by the EU, rather than a variety of company-provided documents
