Agents, operators and other travel businesses are processing an unprecedented wave of refunds and rebookings owing to cancellations arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen countries shut their borders and the Foreign Office advice against all non-essential travel worldwide “indefinitely”.

Lewis on Tuesday (7 April) appealed directly to secretary of state for business Alok Sharma and called on his department to support the travel industry by making “the right decision” and amending the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs).

Under the PTRs, where a package arrangement cannot be fulfilled, customers are due a refund within 14 days. This is manageable in the event, for instance, of a single travel company collapsing, or the Foreign Office advising against all but essential travel to a single specific destination.

However, as consumers act as tacit creditors for travel businesses by paying for their holidays months in advance of the date of travel, most companies do not have the cash to process refunds en masse.

Abta is advising businesses offer a temporary “credit note”, which would currently be valid until the end of July, although Abta is seeking to extend this until the end of March 2021, that can be used to book a future holiday to the same value, or otherwise be refunded at a later date once the scheme is put on a legal footing and the immediate Covid-19 crisis for businesses has abated.

TTNG said that over the past few weeks, it has supported Abta and the CAA – which are believed to be broadly aligned in their stance on easing the PTRs – in conversations with the government around the legislation.

Abta on Tuesday launched its Save Future Travel campaign, urging travel businesses to contact their local MP to tell them their story and detail the effect the pandemic is having on their livelihoods.

‘Inundated’

“While we welcomed the government’s quick response to support businesses, we call for immediate action on PTRs,” said Lewis.

“We have been in constant communication with Abta and the CAA, offering the secretary of state for BEIS [the government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy] a consolidated and evidenced view on how this situation is impacting travel businesses across our membership and the industry at large.

“A decision from the government should be imminent in order to avoid businesses collapsing in the short term.”

Lewis said over the past month, TTNG’s main focus had been to support members by giving them access to tools to help their businesses at this time, and support them in their conversations with employees and customers.

Members have been also sent template letters they can send to local MPs to “plead for their cause”, scripts to support conversations with customers about refunds, and a legal statement to defend chargebacks under the Consumer Credit Act with merchant acquirers.

Lewis also set out further practical support for members: “At this time of uncertainty, all travel businesses are currently inundated with customers’ requests to alter or cancel their travel plans.

“To take some of that pressure off our members, we have recently launched an initiative whereby members are sending us details of their customers’ travel insurance policies and we will carry out the research on their behalf so as to understand if their customers can claim from their travel insurance, under the cancellation cover.

“More than 60 members have already taken this onboard and the support team is busy checking all policies’ terms and conditions.”

Lewis added the pandemic was testing “every part” of the consortium’s trust account model “and was working as it is designed to do”.