to consider specific needs communicated by travellers, robust contact details for effective communication, and mandatory disclosure of loyalty points and other reward benefits. Travellers’ contractual autonomy is strengthened by transforming the possibility of terminating before the start of the package into an express right, subject to an “appropriate and justifiable” termination fee, thereby placing the burden on organisers to ensure that the contract stipulates that such a fee may be charged. On the regulatory front, Article 18 is amended to require enhanced cooperation and information exchange among Member States regarding insolvency protection and reimbursement mechanisms. In B2B relations, the new Article 22(2) obliges Member States to establish an automatic refund mechanism in favour of organisers within seven days if a service provider cancels or fails to perform part of a package. This places organiser–provider relations firmly within contractual liability, while organisers remain strictly liable towards travellers under Article 13(1). Finally, Annex I is replaced and Annex II deleted to reflect the removal of linked travel arrangements. Transposition is due by 29 September 2028, and the new rules apply from 29 March 2029 across the European Union. Keywords: Directive (EU) 2026/1024, Directive (EU) 2015/2302, maximum harmonisation, package travel, linked travel arrangements, traveller protection; concept of “package”, pre‑contractual information, insolvency protection, organiser–service provider relations (B2B), complaints handling. I. INTRODUCTION: MODIFICATIONS TO THE EXISTING FRAMEWORK IN THE CONTEXT OF MAXIMUM HARMONISATION On 8 May, Directive (EU) 2026/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2026 (NPTDrev) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L Series ), amending Directive (EU) 2015/2302 (NPTD) with the aim of “make the protection of travellers more effective and to simplify and clarify certain aspects” of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 (NPTD). However, this is not a new directive replacing the previous one, as happened in 2015, when the current NPTD repealed Directive 90/314/EEC (abbreviated PTD), creating a new EU framework for package and linked travel arrangements. It should be recalled that the current NPTD, unlike the PTD, which gave States considerable leeway in its transposition into national laws, imposes a high 12 CARLOS TORRES
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