A judge has ruled that loveholidays was not obliged to refund customers’ flights after they chose to cancel their package to the Greek island of Kos during the pandemic.

Loveholidays had refunded their accommodation but refused to refund the flights since it wasn’t able to obtain a refund from the airline.

The flights had operated as planned and there was no Foreign Office warning against travel to Kos at the time of the holiday, in Sepember/October 2020.

However, the Grecotel hotel originally booked by Mr and Mrs Kirk was closed so loveholidays had proposed moving them to the Michaelanglo, a similar hotel in the same resort four minutes’ drive away.

The Kirks had declined the offer and sought a full refund, which was initially awarded by a deputy district judge on the grounds that, under the terms of the Package Travel Regulations, the closure of the Grecotel was ‘an unavoidable and extraordinary circumstance occurring at the place of destination and that it significantly affected the performance of the package’.

However, Loveholidays won its appeal at Wrexham Country Court on the grounds that the holiday contract allowed for minor changes to be made to the services provided, and substitution of a like for like hotel was a minor change permissible under the terms of the contract, ABTA Guidance, and the PTRs.