In 2020, the ÖAMTC legal advice received almost 200.000 inquiries - this also includes information and advice calls that were processed by the four emergency aid centers and the tourism department of the mobility club.
Due to the corona, the number of inquiries about travel has increased about three times. The range of topics ranged from rebooking, travel cancellations and deadlines for badges and driving licenses to mobility restrictions and border closings. The type of customer contact has also changed as a result of the pandemic: The number of personal consultations fell by almost 50 percent, while the number of telephone consultations remained more or less unchanged. The number of written consultations, especially in digital form, i.e. by email, has risen sharply.
The travel law inquiries very often concerned the cancellation of package tours free of charge as well as reimbursements after hotel and flight cancellations. As with Mr. and Mrs. L, who paid for a flight in a travel agency, which due to the pandemic never took place. The travel agency asked for support drew gloomy prospects for a repayment, which is why the couple sought legal advice from the ÖAMTC. The lawyer who worked there saw the airline as responsible for repaying the travel price. After several interventions by the mobility club, the couple got their travel price back.