Due to the Corona crisis, many vacations will have to be postponed. Anyone who has booked a trip should not cancel it straight away.
- The Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior are currently warning of tourist trips abroad.
- During the Corona crisis, travel can be canceled free of charge under certain conditions.
- Anyone who has already booked a trip should not cancel it immediately.
In order to slow the spread of the novel corona virus *, special regulations currently apply in Germany and in numerous other countries, including exit restrictions. In addition, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Foreign Office issued travel warnings for unnecessary and tourist trips. These initially apply until the end of April, but will almost certainly be extended over a period of weeks or even months. If you have already booked a vacation, you can cancel it free of charge under some conditions.
Corona crisis: travel warning until end of April
According to the consumer advice center, you have a right to reimbursement of the travel price due to the travel warning if you have booked under German law - i.e. in Germany. However, this is only possible as long as the travel warning exists. This is currently the case until the end of April . If the travel date is later than this period, protection may expire and cancellation costs may apply. However, the consumer advice center also points out that there could be a dispute with the tour operator if he is not clear.
For this reason it is recommended to contact the organizer directly at an early stage. Whether vacation packages or flights: Many trips were canceled anyway and air traffic was severely restricted. However, depending on the situation, it could be a bit difficult to reach the organizer since many people currently have inquiries.
Read also: Cruise stop at MSC, Aida & Co .: Shipping companies sometimes cancel trips until July.
Cancel vacation or not?
If you don't want to give up hope of starting your journey, you can wait and see. Then there would be the danger that one would only find out at short notice whether it was taking place. If you have lost the desire to travel and definitely want to cancel your holiday, you should carefully consider the time of cancellation . If you delay this, it could lead to higher cancellation costs if the travel warning no longer applies. However, an early cancellation could mean that you have to reclaim cancellation fees already paid or withheld, provided that you were no longer entitled to cancel free of charge at the time of travel.
Travel cancellation insurance does not apply due to Corona
The consumer advice center also points out that travel cancellation insurance does not apply in the event of a crisis in the destination country. This would only be the case if, among other things, sickness or unemployment. However, those who get Covid-19 themselves would not always be entitled to reimbursement, as many insurers do not cover pandemics. If in doubt, you can look it up in the insurance contract or seek independent advice, including from the consumer advice center itself.
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* Merkur.de belongs to the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network