Mark Pestronk
Q: I have several questions about our agency's legal obligations to clients who are stranded in the many Middle East countries because of the U.S. war with Iran or who are booked to travel to those countries in coming weeks. For instance, if our stranded clients have return tickets on U.S. airlines, are the airlines legally obligated to carry them on the first flight out?
A: Under U.S. federal law and DOT regulations, U.S. airlines are required to transport passengers on the next available flight with space, not necessarily the first departing flight.
The carriers' obligations are more fully spelled out in their individual contracts of carriage, which are incorporated by reference when a passenger purchases a ticket. Major U.S. carriers typically provide that, in the event of cancellation, the airline will, at the passenger's option: 1) transport the passenger on the next flight with available space, 2) reroute the passenger on another carrier or by other mutually acceptable transportation or 3) provide a refund of the unused portion of the ticket.
So, in a crisis such as the one in the current Middle East, the carrier will try to do option 1 or 2 if the passenger requests, but if no space is available, there is nothing that the passenger can legally compel it to do. Passengers on EU carriers may have more rights, but those rights may not apply to flights between non-EU countries.
Q: What are our own agency's legal obligations to stranded passengers?
A: You have a legal obligation to advise passengers with care, so you need to stay up to date if stranded clients ask you for advice. You also have a legal obligation to try to rebook clients if they ask you to try to do so. However, I don't think that you have an obligation to reach out to clients that have not contacted you first -- but you can certainly do so as a matter of good business sense.
Q: Do we have a legal obligation to reimburse clients for their extra expenses during their stay in the affected countries, on the grounds that we failed to advise about the risk of war?
A: No, but since it is conceivable that an unscrupulous plaintiff's attorney could present such a claim, you should use a disclaimer such as those found at www.pestronk.com/resources.
Q: We organize our own tours and FIT's to Middle East countries, and some of our clients had planned to depart in March and April. Do we have a legal obligation to refund their money on the grounds of force majeure if they ask? We have already remitted most of their funds to suppliers.
A: The participants' rights to refunds are governed by your terms and conditions, assuming that the client agreed to them. Those terms should disclaim liability for events beyond your control. Although war certainly qualifies as force majeure, that legal term does not mean that a refund is required if your terms and conditions provide otherwise.