Package Holiday Rights — Package Travel Regulations 2018
The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 impose strict liability on the package organiser (the company you booked with — not the airline or hotel individually) for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the package:
Airline Rights — EC Regulation 261/2004
EC Regulation 261/2004 (retained in UK law as UK Regulation 261/2004) gives passengers rights where flights are cancelled, significantly delayed, or where they are denied boarding:
- Cancellation — right to a full refund or re-routing at the earliest opportunity, plus compensation (€250–€600 / £220–£520 depending on flight distance) unless cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances.
- Long delay (2–4+ hours at destination) — right to meals, refreshments, and accommodation (if overnight); right to compensation (€250–€600) for delays over 3 hours at the destination where the delay was not due to extraordinary circumstances. Note: technical failures that were not inherent defects are not "extraordinary circumstances" — Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia (C-549/07).
- Denied boarding (overbooking) — full refund or re-routing plus compensation (€250–€600). Airlines routinely attempt to persuade passengers to accept vouchers — a solicitor advises on the cash entitlement.
- Extraordinary circumstances — severe weather, political instability, air traffic control strikes, and safety defects are extraordinary circumstances that exempt the airline from the compensation obligation. However, the burden of proving extraordinary circumstances is on the airline, not the passenger.
Frequently Asked Questions
I booked the flights and hotel separately — do the Package Travel Regulations apply?
Not automatically — the Package Travel Regulations 2018 apply to "packages" where two or more travel services (transport, accommodation, car hire, or a tourist service) are purchased together from a single trader or offered, sold, or charged at an inclusive or total price. They also apply to "linked travel arrangements" where a trader facilitates the purchase of additional services at the point of purchase. Where you booked flights and hotel completely separately from different suppliers, the Regulations typically do not apply — and your rights depend on the individual contracts and consumer protection law applicable to each. A solicitor advises on whether your booking structure attracts the Package Travel Regulations.
The tour operator says the illness was not caused by the hotel — how do I prove it?
Tour operators frequently deny liability for holiday illness, asserting that the illness was caused by eating outside the hotel or by a pre-existing condition. Evidence is critical: a stool sample obtained promptly on return to the UK (identifying the causative organism); a GP attendance record documenting the onset, symptoms, and duration; a contemporaneous diary of meals and activities; and, crucially, evidence that other guests were similarly affected (which can be obtained through the organiser's own complaints records via pre-action disclosure). An independent medical expert produces a report confirming causation. Tour operators are more likely to settle where the evidence is strong and the claimant is legally represented.
The airline gave me vouchers — do I have to accept them instead of cash compensation?
No — under UK Regulation 261/2004, the airline's obligation is to pay the compensation in cash (or by bank transfer or by electronic payment). The airline may offer a voucher as an alternative, but you are entitled to decline and insist on the cash amount. Where the airline has already paid a voucher, the cash equivalent remains owed if you accepted the voucher as a result of a misleading or pressured offer. A solicitor writes to the airline claiming the outstanding cash entitlement and, where necessary, issues proceedings in the county court.
My holiday was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic — can I still claim?
Possibly — for package holidays, the Package Travel Regulations 2018 required organisers to provide a full refund within 14 days of cancellation, regardless of the reason. Many organisers failed to do this during the pandemic, offering vouchers or delaying refunds — claims for outstanding refunds plus interest remain available. For flight-only bookings, airline cancellations during the pandemic were subject to UK Regulation 261/2004 — but FCDO travel advisories and extraordinary circumstances arguments complicate the compensation claim (though the refund obligation remained). ATOL protection applies where a bonded UK organiser cancelled a package — the CAA administers ATOL claims. A solicitor advises on the applicable route for your specific booking type and cancellation circumstances.
Can I claim for distress and loss of enjoyment of a ruined holiday?
Yes — this is one of the clearest categories for distress and loss of enjoyment damages in English contract law. The Court of Appeal in Jarvis v Swans Tours [1973] established that where the purpose of a contract is the provision of pleasure and relaxation (as a holiday plainly is), damages for disappointment, distress, and loss of enjoyment are available in addition to the financial loss (price paid minus value received). Subsequent cases have awarded substantial damages for ruined holidays — including cases of holiday illness where a significant portion of the holiday was spent ill rather than enjoying the resort. A solicitor quantifies the distress and loss of enjoyment element of your claim.