A mask requirement in public spaces can mean that customers of package tours are entitled to withdraw from the contract. The Düsseldorf District Court had to deal with a lawsuit brought by a family who canceled a trip to Mallorca in June 2020.

The defendant tour operator did not want to accept the argument that an extensive mask requirement in the hotel complex, but also in public spaces is unreasonable in summer temperatures, and charged the usual cancellation fee. In contrast, the father of the family went to court and prevailed at the Düsseldorf District Court in the first instance.

However, the decisive factor for the decision was that the travel contract was concluded at a point in time at which a mask requirement was not yet an issue. In other words: The trip was booked before the pandemic. For a long time Mallorca required that masks also be worn in public spaces.

Since the mask requirement has meanwhile become "naturalized", it is not to be expected that this argument for bookings made this year could still entitle a person to withdraw from the trip free of charge. The tour operator could argue against the fact that a mask is required in many places in your home country.