November 5, 2024, 5:31 am | Read time: 4 minutes
First Mallorca, now Andalusia, and the region around Valencia, among others: severe weather is hitting Spain and is also affecting tourist areas. What is the situation on the ground, and what are the travel regulations?
Severe storms have caused devastation in regions of Spain that are popular with vacationers and have claimed the lives of several dozen people. Andalusia, Murcia, and Valencia on the Mediterranean were particularly affected.
Roads, houses, and fields were flooded in many places and cars and trees were swept away by the masses of water. Train services were restricted and flights had to be canceled or diverted. Holidaymakers are also concerned about the situation in the regions bordering the Mediterranean. Although the bathing season is coming to an end, the regions are still a destination for city breaks and active vacations in the fall. What travelers need to know now.
Overview
Travel association: ‘No major problems’
The German Travel Association (DRV) has informed German vacationers in the affected regions that there are “no major problems”. It is the end of the season there and the tour operators organized in the association do not have many guests on site, according to a spokesperson. The fall vacations are over or in their last week in many German states. Mallorca, which was hit by a storm with heavy rain on Monday, and the Canary Islands, which are not affected, are still particularly busy.
The area of rain that caused the current devastation on the Spanish mainland is expected to move on towards the north-east today. However, a severe weather warning is still in place for large parts of Spain. According to the weather service Aemet, the situation throughout Spain will not ease completely until Thursday.
Storms in Spain – what rights vacationers have
As a general rule, package vacationers who are traveling to regions affected by extreme weather as part of a package holiday can contact the tour operator. They will provide information on the current situation and help with any necessary changes to travel plans.
In the case of so-called exceptional circumstances, such as severe flooding, the organizer must support vacationers and, if necessary, arrange for an early return journey, according to the ADAC. Or pay for additional overnight stays (maximum three days) if departure is not possible due to the weather conditions.
Those who have booked individually, for example, flights and accommodation with different providers, may have a more difficult time. According to the consumer advice center Hamburg:
Travel cancellation and trip interruption insurance policies often do not cover natural disasters. Nevertheless, it is useful to check the insurance conditions in this respect, according to the consumer advocates. Some policies do include it in their benefits.
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Storms in Spain – what about planned trips?
If you are planning a trip to one of the affected regions, you should probably consider canceling it. Cancellations are actually possible free of charge if the trip is significantly affected by a natural disaster. As a rule, however, it will only be possible to assess this with certainty shortly before the start of the trip, according to the consumer advocates.
The following therefore applies: Do not cancel prematurely, otherwise you could be threatened with heavy cancellation fees. It is better to stay in contact with the tour operator – to make sure whether the trip can be carried out as planned or not. The DRV also advises this. The providers assess the situation on site and often cancel trips themselves or offer a rebooking if the destruction is too great and the trip is likely to be affected.
Important to know, especially in the context of the current situation in Spain: Announced heavy thunderstorms with storms and rain alone are not an exceptional circumstance, explains the consumer advice center, Hamburg. As a vacationers, you always have to expect violent storms, even in otherwise sunny Spain.
From a travel law perspective, the situation only changes if the storms lead to considerable disruption at the vacation destination, such as flooding. Only then are free cancellations possible.
With material from dpa