The German holiday airline Condor received a defeat at the Frankfurt Regional Court due to its behavior at the beginning of the corona pandemic. In the case of canceled flights, no reference was made to the legal obligation to reimburse, but only information was given about vouchers and rebooking options.

On the other hand, the Federal Association of Consumer Centers in court. The consumer advocates saw Condor's behavior as misleading or a deliberate withholding of the essential information that there is a legal right to a refund of the ticket price under the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation - within one week.

At the beginning of the corona pandemic, Condor informed, among other things via the homepage and allegedly also via the hotline, that canceled flights would be converted into a so-called flight credit, which must be used by mid-2021, as well as free rebookings. According to the consumer advice center, no information was given about the fact that the passengers concerned had the legal right to a full refund of the ticket price.

From this, the consumer advocates derived a conscious and intentional system. According to its own statements, "Germany's most popular holiday airline" did not react to a corresponding warning, so that the consumer advice center went to court. The Frankfurt Regional Court upheld the lawsuit and decided that the passengers must also be informed about the possibility of a refund of the ticket price and that they must be free to decide whether they want to rebook or have the refund.

The court considered it illegal that the affected passengers were denied this option. According to the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance, the airlines must primarily pay back the ticket price if the connection is canceled. According to the consumer center, Condor's behavior was not an isolated case, because at the beginning of the corona pandemic, many providers suggested that you could only rebook or receive a voucher. The industry speculated on an EU-wide voucher solution and for this reason, among other things, massively delayed reimbursements. However, Brussels rejected the request.

According to its own statements, the consumer advice center warned numerous airlines and tour operators. Some have reacted to this and ended the practice, others have let it go to court. For example, the case of Tui Germany ended up before the district court in Hanover. The verdict was in favor of the consumer center.