Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

FRANCE | VALÉRIE AUGROS 811 traveller. The organiser will have to justify as well that the termination fee is reasonable. Such an obligation to justify the reasonable amount of the termination fee will, in practice, be difficult to comply with for travel agents. Such a provision may clearly lead to discussions with the consumer, who ultimately seems to be the only person who can assess reasonableness – subject to court’s supervision. Organisers are left with greater risk of litigation in this respect, even though they clearly provided fixed termination fee amounts (depending on the date of termination by the traveller) in their conditions. – Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the package or which significantly affect the carriage of passengers to the destination (Article 12.2). This is a quite extensive right granted to travellers by the new PTD. Such a right may be considered as a counterpart to the right for the organiser to terminate the contract in case of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances set out in Article 12.3. At first glance, the conditions of application of this right seem narrower compared to the possibility of the organiser terminating the contract for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. Indeed, the Directive mentions that such an event should occur at the destination, whereas such a criterion is not required for the organiser. However, the traveller will be entitled to terminate the contract upon his own assessment of the situation. For instance, reference to the advices and recommendations of the foreign office may provide assistance to this end, but it is not necessary. Before the new PTD, the decision to terminate the contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances was only a prerogative of the travel agent, left under his responsibility. However, the travel agent was entitled to maintain the contract and/or to carry on the performance of the package, even if an event occurred at the destination, which he did not consider to have affected the performance of the package. This new right has a great impact for organisers, who will have to anticipate any event that may fall within this definition at the time of entering into the package contract. The examples of events found in the Directive and considered as an ‘unavoidable and extraordinary circumstance’ are quite broad: warfare,