• the potential creation of a special fund/special funds at national or Union level to cover refunds in times of crisis without requiring the insolvency of the relevant package organiser • a possible limitation of pre-payments to be made by package travellers, reducing the need for insolvency protection, and avoiding/limiting the risk for travellers of having to wait for refunds, in particular, in times of crisis • recommendations or rules on refunds from providers of travel services (e.g. airlines) to package organisers • possible alternatives to the current rules on linked travel arrangements if similar guarantees can be provided in a simpler way, e.g., through certain rules on intermediaries and insolvency protection requirements for certain service providers. The EU’s proposed reforms were approved by the European Parliament during a first reading in September 2025. AN OVER-ARCHING CONCERN There can be no doubt that the EU legislators and the CJEU have an acute focus on ensuring a high degree of consumer protection in this area of the law. While this must be balanced with a regime that facilitates innovation and the ability of the travel industry to adapt and survive, any attempts at divergence in the UK must ensure the highest level of consumer protection. This is notably the case for individuals who sustain a life-changing injury while travelling overseas or in the UK for holidays or business, which the package travel directive and UK Regulations have always captured through the liability regime that makes the tour operator responsible for a lack of conformity in the performance of the services forming part of the package holiday contract. SHOULD THE PTRS CONTINUE TO APPLY TO UK-ONLY PACKAGE HOLIDAYS? The UK government is considering exempting domestic package holidays that do not include the transport of passengers from the regulations, on the basis that this may encourage businesses to offer more choice and more cost-effective 3 PACKAGE TRAVEL REFORM AND THE UK: PIONEERING DIVERGENCE
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