Thousands of people have been killed or injured as a result of attacks by the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas and counter-strikes by the Israeli armed forces, rocket fire continues, and an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is expected. Considering the situation in the country, it is actually impossible to think about vacationing in Israel. But what about trips that have already been booked? Can they now be canceled? Answers to the most important questions.
What is the situation for holidaymakers in Israel?
The Foreign Office warns against traveling to Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as Lebanon. German citizens who are in the country should get on the crisis preparedness list “Elephant“Enter: This allows foreign missions to contact you more quickly in the event of a crisis. More than 1,000 people have already been brought to Germany on special flights in the past few days.
Regular air traffic to Israel has now largely been stopped, Lufthansa, for example, provides information on its websitethat flights to Tel Aviv would be suspended until October 22nd. Various cruise ships have changed their routes and there are currently no calls to Israeli ports. Tui Cruises, for example, announced that My ship 5 Instead of Haifa and Ashdod, it will dock in the ports of Marmaris in Turkey and on the Greek island of Santorini.
Can planned trips to Israel be canceled?
Anyone who wanted to fly to Israel in the coming days as part of a package holiday can cancel their holiday free of charge, both because of the officially declared state of war and because of the travel warning from the Foreign Office. “Current trips to the country are unreasonable, that is completely clear,” says travel lawyer Paul Degott: “The state of war is certainly an extraordinary circumstance. Previously people spoke of force majeure.” In such a case, travelers can withdraw from the travel contract – the price must be refunded to them and there are no cancellation fees.
The same applies to tour operators: They can also cancel the trip citing exceptional circumstances. According to the German Travel Association (DRV), this has already happened. The guests were informed about this and could rebook or have the travel price transferred back.
What about travel in the coming months?
Israel is a popular travel destination, especially over Christmas. How the situation in the country will develop by then is uncertain. Attorney Degott recommends waiting and not canceling too quickly. You can only withdraw from a package holiday free of charge if it is already foreseeable that it cannot take place as booked, for example if the travel warning from the Foreign Office continues. However, if the situation calms down, cancellation fees could apply. The travel law expert advises contacting the travel provider. He himself has an interest in only carrying out trips if there are no local restrictions.
“It is currently impossible to predict what will happen with travel in the next few months,” says a spokeswoman for the German Travel Association. The organizers continually reassessed the security situation – also in consultation with the Foreign Office.
What is the legal situation for individually booked trips?
Anyone who has not booked flights and hotels as a package, but individually, is legally worse off than package travelers. The airlines must refund the flight price for canceled flights. As soon as flights take place again and entry is permitted, the airlines are no longer obliged to take back tickets free of charge, even in the event of a travel warning: they can finally provide the booked service.
The legal situation is similar for hotel overnight stays: If the accommodation is open and can offer the booked service, it looks bad with a free cancellation – unless you have booked this option in advance. Then all that remains is to hope for goodwill from the hotel operator: “For example, you could agree that the hotelier keeps the money for the room, but issues a voucher for a stay in the future,” says Degott.
What about traveling to neighboring countries?
Jordan and Egypt are also often booked for a sun holiday in the winter months. The holiday resorts there are not currently affected by the conflict, which is why trips cannot be canceled free of charge. Fear of escalation is not a sufficient reason for resignation.