BUSINESS NEWS cancellation and refund rights, dominate discussion at event in Prague. Ian Taylor reports


‘Resolution of insolvency relies on good data’


Access to data is key to reform of insolvency protection in travel, PT Trustees chief executive Sudheer Sharma told the ITLN conference. He said: “Trusts were


traditionally not very popular. They existed for smaller tour operators which couldn’t get bonds.” But during the pandemic, he said: “Trust accounts became popular.” Now Sharma noted the


government is considering “a hybrid option of bonds and trusts” in package travel reform proposals. He said questions “regarding


who pays if there is an insolvency are straightforward if you have


Sudheer Sharma


Travlaw expert ‘disappointed’ by ‘less ambitious’ PTR reform plans


good data”, arguing: “It’s the quality of the data that addresses the risk. If a system is well built, it’s just a question of matching information.” Sharma suggested: “Travel


companies have the data. The issue is their ability to deliver the data. I can only talk about PT Trustees data. We supply approximately 2,000 trust account reports to the CAA weekly and monthly. To my knowledge there is no one collecting and holding data in the way we are.”


A senior industry lawyer has criticised UK government proposals for reform of the Package Travel Regulations, describing them as “disappointing”. Changes proposed


in a 12-week consultation due to run until June 30 are far less extensive than those outlined in a Call for Evidence on reform in late 2023. Stephen Mason, senior counsel


at Travlaw, said: “Wide-ranging proposals have been dropped. Simplifying the information requirements has been dropped.


Stephen Mason


A business travel amendment has been dropped. A proposal for the role of credit card companies to be taken into account in financial protection [against insolvency] has


disappeared. “Any suggestion of


abolishing Linked Travel


Arrangements, which would be the sensible thing to do, has gone.” He told the ITLN conference:


“The [UK] consultation document is very disappointing. The reason it has become less ambitious is the time limit for amendments because of Brexit arrangements.”


‘The extraordinary is now normal’


The warming climate is increasing the incidence of extreme weather and complicating the assessment of “extraordinary circumstances” and cancellation rights under the Package Travel Regulations, according to a leading lawyer. Nick Parkinson, partner at


Travlaw, told the Prague conference: “What used to be extraordinary is becoming normal. At what point do we say floods, fires or droughts are ‘extraordinary’? These things appear to be happening more and more.” He said: “There was a drought


in southern Spain last year. Some clients called up [organisers] before their holiday to ask, ‘Is there water?’” But others “were not aware of the drought and surprised when they arrived” to find a scorched landscape. “We’ve seen ruined holidays,


expectations not matched or clients saying they don’t want to go, [and] tour operators have a duty of care.”


travelweekly.co.uk When do we say


floods, fires or droughts are ‘extraordinary’? These are happening more and more


Article 12 of the UK Package


Travel Regulations 2018 entitles travellers to a full refund if they terminate a package contract due to “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity” which significantly affects the package or carriage (travel) to the destination. This right is based on the EU


Package Travel Directive, Article 12, which confers “the right to terminate the package travel contract before the start of the package without paying any termination fee in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary


the contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”. What constitutes extraordinary


circumstances can already be subject to litigation and is changing as the impact of global warming grows. Parkinson said some court rulings


“have made it clearer, others have muddied the water”, adding: “A holiday is either significantly affected or not. The problem is we’re going to see more floods, fire and drought.” Travlaw senior counsel Stephen


Nick Parkinson


circumstances” at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity. The same article, also transposed


to UK law, gives the organiser the right to terminate and pay a full refund if “prevented from performing


Mason noted that what is ‘significant’ to a customer may vary, saying: “Is a package significantly affected if people are not able to have a shower [because of a drought]? Most people would say that is significant, but it doesn’t mean you’re forced to cancel.” Parkinson said organisers


“should inform passengers whenever a situation is developing” and advised: “Don’t assume a consumer wants to cancel.”


5 JUNE 2025 55


PICTURE: David Robertson


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