Business travel associations have welcomed revisions to the EU’s Package Travel Directive, which were approved by the European Parliament on Thursday (12 March), and explicitly exclude business travel from its scope.
Business travel association network BT4Europe, which previously advocated for the change, welcomed the move as a “balanced and pragmatic approach”, and highlighted the importance of distinguishing business travel from leisure travel.
"Applying package liability rules to business travel arrangements would have created unnecessary burdens for agencies, SMEs and the wider business travel ecosystem," said BT4Europe chair Patrick Diemer.
"BT4Europe is proud of the role we have played in building a coalition, working with partners and informing legislators in Brussels and across EU member states not to saddle business travel with unnecessary regulation."
MEPs on Thursday approved revised rules on package travel designed to protect consumers booking leisure trips. The updated directive, which has already provisionally been agreed with EU member states, clarifies which trips and services can be considered a travel package, and sets out the conditions under which consumers can cancel travel plans without a penalty.
Critically, the revised text stipulates the directive “does not apply to packages purchased on the basis of a general agreement for the arrangement of business travel”.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) also applauded the change and “strongly supports” excluding business travel from the directive.
“This outcome represents an important recognition by EU policymakers of the distinct nature of business travel and responds to longstanding industry calls for legal clarity,” the association said in a statement.
GBTA also urged the European Parliament and EU member states to "maintain momentum on the remaining passenger rights legislative proposals, as the current legislative framework’s lack of clarity continues to create operational uncertainty and administrative burdens for business travellers and the companies that support them".
The European Council must now formally adopt the revised Package Travel Directive, which will then be published entered into force. EU countries will have 28 months from the date of entry into force to transpose the new rules into national law, and a further six months to start applying the new provisions.