German consumer advocates are making a fresh attempt to change the previous sales practice for airline tickets. The head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations demands that tickets only have to be paid for a few days before departure.

A few years ago, the consumer protection organization made a similar attempt, arguing that prepayment for tickets would violate the principle of goods for money. Some airlines were sued, but the consumer advice center was unsuccessful. The highest court argued that a lower price would justify the practice for long-term bookings with prepayment.

Compared to the Rheinische Post, consumer center boss Müller explained that the airlines disregarded the law during the Corona crisis and that this resulted in serious disadvantages for consumers. They would have to wait several months for their tickets to be reimbursed and in many cases it is unclear whether they will ever be reimbursed. Müller described the behavior of the airlines as "embarrassing and scandalous" and points out that many providers have received government aid worth billions of euros.

The number of complaints about tour operators and airlines would have risen massively this year. There are already 80.000 cases nationwide. According to Müller, this value is twenty times higher than the previous year's value. The vast majority concerns reimbursements for tickets and trips that have not yet been made, which could not be started due to the corona crisis and on top of that the provider had canceled the implementation itself.

The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations called on numerous airlines, travel agencies and tour operators to refrain from prepayment, but also to comply with the law and thus to repay customer claims. Among other things, Tui, Easyjet, Condor and Eurowings were even taken to court. The judgments are still pending.