In some cases, travelers do not have to pay for their trip if the travel agency has made gross mistakes in the planning and the trip can therefore not be continued. This was decided by the Munich Local Court (AZ: 114 C 8563/22). In this case, a family wanted to travel with their Chihuahuas in the passenger cabin from Munich via Zurich to Dubai. However, the family had not been informed in advance by the travel agency that, according to the rules of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), pets may be transported to Dubai as cargo and not in the passenger cabin.
The family only found out about this at Zurich airport. They then canceled their flight to Dubai and returned. The family then refused to pay the costs of around 3,700 euros for the flight. They also demanded compensation of around 200 euros from the travel agency for the costs they had incurred as a result of the aborted trip. This included costs for a Covid-19 antigen test and the transportation of the dogs back to Munich. The Munich travel agency took legal action against this and failed before the local court.
The Munich Local Court rejected the travel agency's claim. It argued that the travel agency should have carefully examined the circumstances and should never have concluded the contract with the airline. Instead, the travel agency should have taken the request for the Chihuahuas to be transported in the passenger cabin seriously and clarified it before booking. The court also confirmed that the travel agency had breached its obligations under the travel agency contract. Accordingly, the customer had no influence on the damage and was entitled to rely on the information provided by the travel agency.
Source and further information: justiz.bayern.de
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