Airlines can be costly if ticket brokers fail to share information about flight cancellations with customers. The European Court of Justice ruled in 2017 that airlines are not fulfilling their duty to provide information simply by informing the agency.
However, network carriers in particular are still sticking to outdated practices, sending information to travel agencies and booking platforms, but not directly to passengers. Refunds are also referred to the intermediary, even though the ECJ has also determined that airlines must pay back their passengers directly.
Of course, reputable travel agencies immediately pass on all the information they receive from airlines to their customers. However, this is not the case with many online portals, so that a cancellation made outside the two-week period may never reach the passengers. Airlines are liable for this, the district court in Erding recently determined.
The trade journal “Reiserecht aktuell” reports that the court is of the opinion that the airline must prove that the information about the cancellation outside the two-week period actually reached the passengers. If a travel agent doesn't pass this on, it's the airline's problem and not the passenger's.
In this specific case, a flight from Munich to Split was canceled 15 days in advance. The airline therefore informed the travel agent outside of the 14-day period that is subject to compensation. However, the latter did not consider it necessary to forward the information immediately, and the plaintiff only received the information four days before the planned departure. The airline is liable for this and has to pay compensation of 250 euros per passenger. The judgment of the Erding District Court thus corresponds to the decision of the ECJ from 2017.