Court ruling: Cancellation of travel is also possible without a travel warning from the RKI

Cancellation due to Corona
Court ruling: Cancellation of travel is also possible without a travel warning from the RKI

With a view to the corona pandemic, package travelers can possibly withdraw from the trip even if the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has not yet issued a travel warning for the destination area. The prerequisite for a free cancellation is that there is “a significant impairment of the trip”, as the Oldenburg Regional Court decided in an already final judgment announced on Wednesday. (Az: 5 S 127/21)

The plaintiff had booked a ski trip by bus to South Tyrol for herself and her partner for the period from February 28 to March 7, 2020. After the governor for Bolzano-South Tyrol issued a corona emergency ordinance on February 23, 2020, the applicant withdrew from the travel contract shortly before departure.

The organizer was unable to reallocate seats on the bus or the hotel room at such short notice. He withheld cancellation fees of 1,400 euros and only reimbursed the rest. Only on March 9, 2020, the RKI declared South Tyrol a risk area.

Significant impairment of the trip significant

As the Regional Court of Oldenburg has now decided, the organizer must also repay the withheld cancellation fee. The time and the forecast to be made at that time are decisive for a free cancellation. This must lead to “a considerable impairment of the journey” to be expected. This is to be answered in the affirmative here.

At the time of the cancellation, the pandemic situation in South Tyrol had worsened considerably. The likelihood of infection has increased significantly as a result. This applies, for example, to traveling to and from the bus, staying in hotels and restaurants, transferring to the ski slopes and queuing at the lift.

A travel warning from the RKI was not necessary for the free withdrawal from the contract, emphasized the Oldenburg district court.

tib / AFP