London (AFP)
The bankruptcy of Thomas Cook is enough to make the British tour operator's customers anxious, but many of them should be protected and reimbursed thanks to a European directive.
This stipulates that all organized trips purchased in the European Union are protected.
- ATOL warranty in UK -
In the United Kingdom, despite the planned Brexit in just over a month, this directive applies under the name of the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATOL) guarantee which comes into play with the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook and the repatriation of 150,000 British tourists by the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
This system is managed by the CAA and applies to tourists who have purchased an all-inclusive trip with flights and hotels. Tourists already on vacation will be able to finish their stay then return normally, assigned to other companies. Those who have not left yet receive a refund or other holiday offer.
The Department of Transport estimates the cost of the repatriation operation at around £ 100 million (€ 113 million).
Downing Street has, however, added that, in the circumstances, travelers returning to the United Kingdom will be repatriated at no cost to the Government, regardless of their nationality and whether they are protected by ATOL or not.
ATOL, introduced in 1973, protects some 20 million British holidaymakers each year and is funded by a 2.50-pound commission levied on each trip.
The fund was already used two years ago for the bankruptcy of the airline Monarch but the extent of the repatriation was about half of the amount.
The EU package travel directive applies to other EU countries, which may benefit from local guarantees or reimbursement funds.
Each trip has a part of the tariff to cover the guarantee fund, which should be used for emergencies such as Thomas Cook's bankruptcy.
Similarly in Germany, tour operators are required to take out insurance of 110 million euros to compensate and / or repatriate their customers if they go bankrupt.
However, the government can intervene to help repatriate travelers if the costs exceed this amount.
- "Cooperation" in France -
In France, "we have a very clear system that replaces Thomas Cook," says Jean-Pierre Mas, President of Travel Business, which represents French travel agencies.
"The repatriation will be done with the cooperation, the collaboration of all the actors of the trip, the tour operators, the travel agencies, the airlines and the French government, which will certainly intervene to facilitate this repatriation where we do not have the means to do it, "he said Monday, interviewed on RTL.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, for its part, to be in contact with the management of Thomas Cook France "to identify all the French customers of the company currently abroad".
The return of the direct customers of the Thomas Cook France agencies will be secured by the Professional Association of Tourism Solidarity (APST), which currently has global reserves of about 40 million euros, she said. indicated in a statement.
It figures the potential cost of returning direct customers "to around 5 million euros".
On the other hand, for holidaymakers who have passed through a travel agency partner or franchise of Thomas Cook (250 in number), their return "will be supported by the latter".
Thomas Cook France has announced the establishment of an emergency number for its 9,842 customers currently on vacation to "assist", "in close connection with the various professional organizations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" .
burs-jbo-as / pn / cj
© 2019 AFP