The makeshift deferred refund regime has been championed by Abta, which says many firms simply cannot provide refunds in 14 days – as stipulated by the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) – in the absence of pipeline monies, a lack of cash flow, and staffing reductions owing to furlough.
The travel sector has been waiting for months for a concession on the PTRs from the government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) to ease the refund burden, despite more than a dozen European countries having taken the necessary action.
