What corona high-risk areas legally mean for travelers

Created: 12/17/2021, 8:01 PM

If the global risk of infection is known at the time of booking, the protection provided by package travel law does not apply automatically, according to experts.

© Zacharie Scheurer / dpa-tmn

With France, Denmark and Norway, other European countries are becoming corona high-risk areas.

Anyone who has booked a Christmas holiday there and would like to cancel must hope for goodwill.

Kehl / Berlin - The number of Corona high-risk areas in Europe has continued to grow - and after Switzerland and Poland, some popular travel destinations are again affected.

From December 19, France, Denmark and Norway will also be on the list of high-risk areas.

This also has legal consequences for holidaymakers who want to spend Christmas or New Years there, for example.

In total, more than 50 countries are now fully or partially classified as high-risk areas by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

This has effects, among other things, when travelers return to Germany: Unvaccinated people then have to be quarantined at home for ten days and can only get rid of it with a negative test after five days at the earliest.

There is no such quarantine obligation for vaccinated and genesis patients after returning from high-risk areas.

However, all travelers must complete an entry form when returning home from a high-risk area.

You can do this online, but also on paper in an emergency.

For children under 12 years of age, the quarantine ends five days after re-entry, even without proof of a negative test result.

And holidaymakers who only drive through a high-risk area on the way home are exempt from the quarantine obligation.

The circumstances of the individual case decide

But what does the high-risk area classification mean for a planned vacation itself, i.e. for the time before returning to Germany?

The German government has issued a travel warning for countries and regions that are becoming high-risk areas for corona.

Before the pandemic, this was always a clear indication of the existence of exceptional circumstances.

This resulted in a free cancellation right for organizer guests.

You got your down payments back without any deductions.

But Corona has been around for a while now.

"Whether after almost two years of pandemic there is still an extraordinary circumstance when a country becomes a high-risk or virus variant area after booking has not yet been clarified by the highest court," says Karolina Wojtal from the European Consumer Center (EVZ) in Kehl.

"It always depends on the circumstances of the specific individual case, in particular how the situation was presented at the time of booking and whether the specific development could or had to be expected," says Wojtal.

Cancellation: "Free is over"

The travel lawyer Prof. Ernst Führich dampens any hopes: "Many vacationers still think that they can easily cancel their package tours booked this year because of the corona pandemic free of charge." That is probably not so: "Free of charge is over."

If you book a trip with full knowledge of the dynamic pandemic waves, you cannot rely on the relief of an unavoidable, extraordinary circumstance in the event of a cancellation, says Führich.

If the global risk of infection was already known at the time of booking, the protection provided by package travel law does not apply.

Amicable agreement: Find a solution with the organizer

Due to the unclear legal situation, Karolina Wojtal from the EVZ advises the event organizers concerned to seek an amicable agreement with the provider.

Travel companies were often accommodating and enabled free rebooking, for example to other destinations or travel periods.

"The extent to which organizers also allow free cancellations is at their discretion," said Wojtal.

Travelers who have booked a more expensive flex tariff have an advantage: They can usually rebook or cancel free of charge up to two weeks before the start of the trip - without giving a reason.

However, there are now less than two weeks until Christmas and New Year's Eve, so that such regulations are more likely to apply to later bookings.

Individual travelers: No direct impact

However, holidays in Germany's neighboring countries are often not booked through a tour operator.

In this case, the legal situation is different: The classification as a high-risk area alone has no impact on tourists who have booked their vacation individually, as consumer advocate Wojtal explains.

There is therefore no right to free cancellation of the accommodation or arrival.

more on the subject

Can I cancel vacation in the high-risk area free of charge?

Austria & Co .: Can I cancel vacation in the high-risk area free of charge?

Cancellation fees: travel warnings are often no longer a reason for cancellation

It would look different, however, if there was a ban on tourist overnight stays in a country or region.

Then the stay would be impossible for the guests, and the accommodation would have to cancel them and repay the money already paid.

dpa