Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

192 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE • the word “extraordinary” in the term “ unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances ” has to be regarded a meaningless and unnecessary adjunct. Because of the fully harmonising character of the PTD 2015 25 , which prevents Member States frommaintaining or introducing more or less stringent provisions which would ensure a different level of traveller protection, the Member States cannot simply use their own interpretation when implementing the PTD 2015 into their national law. 4.2. Article 13 para 7 This Article provides for an obligation of the organiser to bear the costs of necessary accommodation for a period of three nights maximum if the traveller, because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances , is prevented from his return as agreed in the package travel contract. While in Article 14 para 3, the term “ unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances ” is used to limit the responsibility of the organiser, in Article 13 para 7 it describes a situation in which additional obligations are imposed on the organiser. An interpretation which, according to the definition in Article 3 para 12, does not require the circumstances to be outside the ordinary or unusual, in the context of Article 13 para 7 PTD 2015, would therefore extend the responsibility of the organiser in regards to the costs of additional accommodation services. In applying this definition, the organiser would be responsible for providing additional necessary accommodation in the event that the traveller was prevented from taking his return trip, as agreed in the package travel contract, due to an illness which was beyond his control and the consequences of which he could not have avoided, even if all reasonable measures – like immediate medical treatment – had been taken. The result varies greatly if we include a requirement of the circumstances to be “outside the ordinary” or “unusual”. In this case, diseases, which are part of the ordinary risk of travelling (e.g. because of the climate conditions at the destination, etc.), would not constitute any obligation of the organiser and it would become the responsibility of the traveller to pay for the costs of additional accommodation. 25 Article 4 PTD 2015.