From the dream of a Mallorca vacation? The renewed travel warning for almost all of Spain, including the Balearic Islands, confuses many vacation plans. The scenarios at a glance.
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - The federal government's renewed travel warning for all of Spain with the exception of the Canary Islands has an impact on travelers. But what is true for whom? The most important information at a glance:
Scenario 1: I'm on site
- Package holidaymakers who are already on site will be brought back to Germany at the expense of their tour operator. That means: if in doubt, you should leave earlier. "Package holidaymakers should also use the return flight organized by the organizer," warns Sabine Fischer-Volk, a lawyer at the Karimi law firm in Berlin. "Otherwise you will have to pay for your return journey later yourself."
- Individual travelers who are already there must arrange a return trip themselves and at their own expense. However, you are not forced to leave - a travel warning is not a travel ban. This means that you can also take your booked return flight. However, you should check whether this continues to be offered as planned. It could be that airlines cut connections.
Important: Anyone who returns from Mallorca or another Balearic island, for example, is considered a returnee from a risk area - with the corresponding obligations to a corona test and quarantine at home until a negative test result is available.
Scenario 2: I wanted to go soon
- Package holidaymakers who wanted to start their trip in the coming days now have bad cards: The travel warning is binding for German tour operators. The companies cancel their trips as soon as there is a warning. In this case, the guests get their down payments back. Holidaymakers who are about to start their journey can now also cancel their travel contract free of charge.
- Individual travelers who want to start their trip soon should contact their airline. If the airline cancels the flight, it has to reimburse the money. However, if the flight goes as planned, no money will be given if the passenger lets the flight expire. Many airlines are currently accommodating when changing bookings. So it may be possible to postpone the flight for free.
Scenario 3: I want to leave in a few weeks
- Package holidaymakers who have booked for the autumn break now have to be patient. It is unclear how long the travel warning will apply, the corona situation can change quickly.
"Anyone who has booked Mallorca for the autumn holidays cannot cancel their trip for free tomorrow," says Fischer-Volk. Because there are still a few weeks until the vacation. "Here I have to wait and see how the situation develops," explains the travel law expert. Anyone who cancels immediately now faces cancellation fees. "The best thing to do is to see what the situation looks like at the travel destination four weeks before you travel." Then a prognosis for the feasibility of the trip is more certain.
And: "Anyone who belongs to a risk group can ask the organizer to change their booking to a later date," says Fischer-Volk. This also applies to holidaymakers who already know for sure that they don't want to go to the Balearic Islands in autumn either. The big organizers are currently accommodating with the rebooking options.
- Package holidaymakers who book now despite the travel warning, accept a certain risk. "If you book now despite the travel warning because you assume that it won't be bad again in autumn, you cannot cancel later free of charge because you have taken the risk," explains Fischer-Volk. A timely, free rebooking would then be an option.
By the way: holidaymakers cannot use travel cancellation insurance in the event of a travel warning. Because such warnings are not insured according to the Federation of Insureds (BdV).
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200814-99-173181 / 2