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European Commission: Countries in violation of travel vouchers NOW

Countries that tolerate that travel organizations and airlines do not give consumers a choice between a voucher or a refund are in violation of European rules, according to the European Commission (EC). That said European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday.

After a press conference on tourism in the context of the corona crisis, the Commissioner for Competition said that letters of encouragement are being sent to all European Member States to inform them of existing legislation. The Netherlands is one of the countries that tolerates a voucher construction.

“We insist that every citizen has the right to a refund,” said Vestager. That is European law. Travel industry organization ANVR was the first in the Netherlands to come up with the ‘corona voucher’. In this way, the tour operators could keep money in cash, which would save them from bankruptcy.

Should the tour operator go bankrupt, the voucher was covered by the SGR guarantee fund. Not long after the tour operators, the airlines, including KLM and Transavia, also introduced the voucher. The European Commissioner says he understands that companies badly need the money. “And if someone wants to accept a voucher and can afford it, that’s fine.”

But if a consumer wants his money back, the tour operator or airline has to comply. The choice is therefore up to the consumer.

Voucher should also become more attractive

Vestager also believes that the voucher can also be made more attractive by linking additional services to it and making it more flexible. It also suggests that Member States can guarantee that voucher. The ANVR also argues for this, since the counter for the issued vouchers has now risen considerably.

The ANWB emphasizes in a response that the guarantee scheme of the SGR in the Netherlands does not yet apply to single airline tickets. “That is why the ANWB wants Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management to ensure that such a guarantee scheme for individual airline tickets will be implemented in the short term.” The ANVR also mentions this in a response on Wednesday.

Furthermore, the trade association says it is regrettable that the covered voucher offered by the “severely affected sector” is not considered adequate by the European Commission. Chairman Frank Oostdam: “This is the only way we and the consumer can serve the consumer and try to keep the travel sector afloat, where about 20,000 jobs are now at risk.” Returning money would be a pain for the industry.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Member States that tolerate a voucher construction would receive a letter. That is not true. European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says he made a mistake during the press conference on Twitter. Not the member states that tolerate vouchers, but all member states receive an encouragement letter to comply with European legislation.

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