Return operations in the Middle East: Passengers must contribute to flight costs

The federal government supports the repatriation of travelers from crisis areas – but this help is not free.

The evacuation of German citizens from the conflict region in the Middle East has begun. The first flight from Oman landed in Frankfurt in the morning. Further flights are already planned.

Travelers returning on one of the flights organized by the federal government will have to pay a contribution towards the costs later.

Evacuation flights: Travelers must contribute to the costs — Return campaign: The Federal Foreign Office charges a cost contribution for evacuation flights, which is usually based on the price of an economy scheduled flight. Hannes P Albert/dpa/dpa-tmn

According to the Foreign Office, a fee is charged for this support, as provided for in the consular law. This is based on the costs of an economy scheduled flight.

Travel law expert Karolina Wojtal explains that this is legally possible and was already handled this way during return campaigns during the corona pandemic. “If I don’t want to pay that, I’ll still have to rely on the organizer and airline”explains Wojtal from the European Consumer Center.

The background: For package tours, tour operators are obliged to organize return flights – these measures have already been initiated. In the case of individually booked flights, however, airlines usually have to offer free replacement flights in the event of flight cancellations.

Is a refund possible?

Evacuation flights — The first evacuation flight from Oman landed in Frankfurt today. Jackyenjoyphotography / Getty Images

The question remains: Can you potentially claim back the costs of the evacuation flight that you have to pay to the state from your airline or operator? According to Wojtal, the chances of this happening are slim.

She refers to a judgment of European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Corona repatriation flights. At that time, air travelers could not claim reimbursement of costs. This applies to both package and individual travelers who want to assert claims under the Air Passenger Rights Regulation.

According to European passenger law, airlines are obliged to offer alternative transport as quickly as possible and also take flights from other providers into account. However: “According to the decision, this only applies to commercial flights.” Evacuation flights do not fall under this category.

In addition to the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, there is Package Travel Policywhich protects travelers if they have booked a comprehensive package of several travel services with an operator.

However, it remains unclear whether claims for reimbursement of costs can be derived from this. The ECJ ruling referred exclusively to air passenger rights.