Poor staffing levels in-resort, heightened traveller expectations and even neglect of buildings could prompt an uplift in claims, delegates at Abta’s Aviation Forum were warned on Tuesday (25 April).

Gareth Thomas, a partner at law firm Kennedys, which hosted the seminar, said there had been an increase in claims against tour operators from clients contracting Legionnaires’ disease – a lung infection caused by inhaling water vapour from bacteria, often from improperly maintained showers or air conditioning.

However, he said: “I think that [Legionnaires’] is probably something [that will be] limited to this year. Maybe procedures have gone awry after hotels were closed for a couple of years.” 

He added operators would have to manage customers’ expectations, with many not having travelled for several years, only then to be faced with paying more for their holidays than they were used to due to tight capacity.

Service levels were an issue, said Thomas. “We have definitely seen that, with hotels being closed, huge turnover of staff, and with people with huge expectations," he told delegates.

“There is general claims inflation going on in the UK, higher inflation generally means claims will be more expensive," Thomas continued. "There’s also a travel-specific layer; people spent two years not being able to go on holiday, they then had to pay a bit more.

“Then there were capacity issues and hotels had been closed for two years, so [service] delivery was difficult, so we are seeing claims escalate. If I’m seeing them, that’s a bad thing, because customer services haven’t been able to sort it out.”

Thomas said claims inflation would be an issue generally, and would likely be coupled with an increase in law firms targeting travel. This was because of caps on legal fees introduced in 2018 on other disputes like motor accidents.

“Motor liability claims are now fixed cost, [so] law firms are moving into the travel sector, whether it’s personal injury or regulatory stuff around airlines,” he said.

Thomas added there had been a decrease in claims resulting from travel’s restart, such as passengers being stranded abroad when flights were cancelled. “The whole refund issue has really levelled off,” he said.