Among relevant information are included those on termination of the contract before departure, and in particular that: «Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances significantly affect the trip or holiday. Examples of extraordinary circumstances include natural disasters, serious security problems or public health risks which can reasonably be expected to affect the package»15. Article 12(2) (Termination of the package travel contract and the right of withdrawal before the start of the package). The new wording of this paragraph on terminating a contract due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances contains further specifications to clarify this cancellation right. i) The new wording clarifies that this right applies in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the travel destination or its immediate vicinity or affecting the journey to the destination but also at the places of residence or departure, in all cases significantly affecting the performance of the package travel; ii) The new wording also clarifies that contracts may be terminated where it can be reasonably expected that the performance of the package travel contract will be significantly affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances16. The proposal added a new paragraph to article 12 - 3a - to clarify that official travel warnings issued by authorities or serious restrictions covering the travel destination or after returning from there are important elements in assessing whether unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances have arisen and significantly affect the performance of a package17. Recitals 18 and 19 of the proposal explains the reason of these amendments. The first recital specifies: «The multitude of conceivable situations that may 15 Annexes to the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2015/2302 to make the protection of travellers more effective and to simplify and clarify certain aspects of the Directive, COM(2023) 905 final, 29.11.2023, pp. 2, 5, 8. 16 Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of PTD is replaced by the following: «Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the traveller shall have the right to terminate the package travel contract before the start of the package without paying any termination fee in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the travel destination or its immediate vicinity, at the place of the traveller’s residence or departure or affecting the journey to the destination, where such circumstances significantly affect the performance of the package. The traveller may terminate the contract where it can be reasonably expected that the performance of the package travel contract will be significantly affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. If the package travel contract is terminated in accordance with this paragraph, the traveller shall be entitled to a full refund of any payments made for the package but shall not be entitled to additional compensation» 17 The new paragraph, 3a, of Article 12 of PTD establishes: «Official warnings against travel to a particular destination issued by the authorities of the Member State of departure or traveller’s residence or the country of destination, or the fact that travellers will be subject to serious restrictions at the travel destination or in the Member State of residence or departure after returning from the trip or holiday, shall be important elements to be taken into account in the assessment of whether a termination of the contract based on paragraph 2 (…) , is justified» 23 TERMINATION OF THE PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACT DUE TO UNAVOIDABLE
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