Hi,
TUI cancelled both flights for a package holiday back in June 2022 from Manchester to Tenerife.
TUI have paid out for the outbound flight but the inbound flight have not and hence I took them to aviation ADR back in October of last year
They have now submitted the defence which states “Compensation with respect to the Flight
5. For the reasons explained below, TUI denies liability for Flight Delay Compensation with respect to the
Flight. This is on the basis that the Claimant was a package holiday customer with TUI and on 1st June
2022, the Preceding Flight was cancelled and subsequently, their package holiday was also cancelled.
6. Given that the Flight was cancelled as a direct result of the cancellation of the package, therefore
rendering this claim outside the scope of the AviationADR Scheme Rules (the Scheme Rules).
7. Taking the above into consideration, this claim is out of scope of the Regulation, recital 16 of which states
that “in cases where a package tour is cancelled for reasons other than the flight being cancelled, this
Regulation should not apply”.
8. To elaborate further, the Claimants’ package holiday was cancelled due to the necessity of cancelling the
Preceding Flight, not the Flight claimed. Therefore, the package booking was not cancelled due to the
Flight being cancelled and as such, the Claimants’ claim is out of scope of the Regulation.
9. Furthermore, Article 1.1.3 of the Scheme Rules requires that disputes under the Scheme are “dispute
stemming from aviation services contracts”. TUI Airways is one of the airlines of TUI AG (known as the
“TUI Group”), one of the world’s largest travel, tourism and leisure businesses. It primarily provides the
air travel component of package holidays for customers of TUI UK Limited (TUI UK), and other UK-based
TUI brands. TUI Airways, TUI UK and TUI AG, along with numerous other TUI entities, are separate
companies and legal personalities. TUI Airways is the only TUI business which subscribes to the Scheme
and is the only TUI business entering into the aviation services contracts referred to in article 1.1.3. TUI
Airways does not sell, provide, operate, or indeed cancel, TUI-branded holidays. TUI Airways is therefore
not the correct respondent for any matters arising out of the cancellation of the Claimants package holiday
booking, including the subsequent cancellation of the Flight.
10. Conversely, TUI UK is not an airline, and does not itself provide aviation services and does not subscribe
to the Scheme and cannot be made party to any claims made under the Scheme. The Scheme is therefore
the incorrect forum for such matters. TUI companies do take these matters seriously, and nothing herein
prevents the Claimants from obtaining a resolution from TUI UK. However, TUI Airways is not in a position
to effect this directly, nor is this firm instructed by TUI UK in this matter.
11. For the above reasons, this claim must now be dismissed.”
The flight on the way back was cancelled by TUI it was TOM2777 on the 13th June 2022 but I cannot seem to find a screenshot I took of this.
Does anyone have any advise please?