Many tour operators and airlines have reimbursed their customers with vouchers for trips canceled during the pandemic following the publication of an order by the French government. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union has just confirmed that it was illegal. Consumers who so wish could ask for a refund.
Will airlines and other tour operators have to go through checkout? In March 2020, to avoid excessive holes in the cash flow of companies in the tourism sector, the French government passed an order allowing them to offer assets of 18 months.
Problem: This prescription is illegal, according to theUFC-What to choose which quotes the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union. When drawing up the March 2020 ordinance, the consumer association had already pointed to the non-compliance of the text, without success. It had therefore, with another association, the CLCV, seized the Court of Justice of the EU.
In her conclusions, made public on September 15, Advocate General Laila Medina first explains that the term reimbursement refers to a sum of money returned to someone. Therefore, any other solution imposed by the organizer, in particular in the form of a voucher, must be excluded, she notes.
A disadvantage for the traveler
However, taking into account the exceptional nature of the pandemic, the Advocate General admits thata temporary derogation from the obligation to repay within 14 days was justified. However, it considers that a voucher with the characteristics indicated in the order is detrimental to the traveler.
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These conclusions have no value for the moment: the judges of the Court will now deliberate in this case and the judgment will be rendered at a later date, recalls UFC-Que Choisir.
Be that as it may, the holders of these assets should not be impacted by this future decision. Sector players interviewed by MoneyVox in June estimated that many assets would be used during the summer holidays. The UFC-Que Choisir judge for its part that since the period of validity of these vouchers has passed (18 months), they have normally been used or reimbursed since.
Nevertheless, some travellers, who had seen each other refuse a refund because they themselves canceled their trip the times may well see the tide turn in their favour. Indeed, while the ordinance required consumers to prove exceptional circumstances, recognition as such by the Court of Justice of the European Union could pave the way for many new requests for reimbursement.