If you arrive late, you will be penalized by the boarding time. This is the bitter realization that a couple had to make when they actually wanted to start a two-week package trip to Cuba from Munich airport. When the two arrived at the airport, boarding had already begun. It was therefore no longer possible to check in your luggage, neither at the baggage machine nor at the check-in counter. The couple ignored the airline’s offer to take the flight without luggage and did not travel. However, it wanted the money back for its package trip – almost 4,000 euros – and therefore sued the tour operator in a civil court at the Munich district court. But without success.
In court, the couple claimed that a delayed train was to blame for the fact that they only arrived at Munich airport around 11 a.m. on the day of departure. Since baggage check-in should have been possible until 11:10 a.m., the fact that boarding had already begun should not have been a reason to refuse baggage check-in, according to the couple.
The tour operator, however, pointed out that the plaintiffs had not planned adequate time reserves for their more than 400 kilometer journey “contrary to repeated advice”. The district court ruled in favor of the tour operator and dismissed the claim for reimbursement of travel costs by the tour operator.
By deciding not to go on the trip without luggage, the plaintiffs had terminated the travel contract with the tour operator, the court said. However, this termination was not effective because there was no “significant lack of travel.” According to the ruling, travelers are obliged to arrive at the airport on time, for example when traveling by plane. When traveling by train, as in the present case, there is also an obligation to select a train connection so that the traveler can get to the airport on time.
In addition, the district court continued, the plaintiffs did not follow the tour operator’s recommendation to plan their journey so that they were at the check-in counter two hours before departure for Cuba. Furthermore, they should not have assumed that they would have the opportunity to hand over their luggage “until literally the last minute”. The judgment of the district court (ref. 158 C 4570/20) is legally binding.