Munich court finds tour operators not liable for delayed 'Rail & Fly' deals

Germany's Munich District Court dismissed (03-Jan-2020) a claim for compensation from passengers whose 'Rail & Fly' rail connection was delayed by more than two hours, resulting in the passengers missing their flight. The Rail & Fly booking was made as part of a package deal with a travel agency for travel from Duesseldorf to Dubai. The court ruled that passengers were required to plan their train connection in such a way that timely arrival at the airport was guaranteed, that the tour operator is not responsible for the cost of a replacement airfare and that passengers had to notify the tour operator directly, and not the travel agency, in order to be able to justify claims for compensation. It pointed out that the tour operator's general terms and conditions stated that "in the event where the traveller's arrival to the airport is by train... this delay in the carriage of trains are to be adequately taken into account when selecting the train connection". [more - original PR - German]