European Parliament wants intermediaries to refund fees for cancelled journeys

European Union-based travel management companies and other intermediaries could be forced to refund their own fees as well as the original ticket cost when journeys they book on behalf of customers are cancelled. The proposal by the European Parliament is currently being considered in its trilogue negotiations with the European Commission and the European Council, which represents the EU’s member states.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), BT4Europe and German travel managers’ association VDR are among corporate travel representative groups lobbying against the Parliament’s proposal. They say it would unfairly penalise intermediaries, who would be compelled to cover their additional costs by raising fees.

Parliament’s proposed wording has emerged during drafting of a regulation to strengthen enforcement of existing passenger rights legislation. These rules include the air passenger rights regulation, often referred to as EU261, a revision of which is also in the final stages of trilogue negotiation and could be adopted before the end of this year.

The new enforcement regulation sets out rules for how reimbursement should be provided for delayed or cancelled journeys. It also aims to provide better, more consistent information on how to obtain compensation and refunds, including a standardised form for making such claims.

“In the European Parliament, the Transport and Tourism Committee has adopted a position that goes further than the Commission’s [original] proposals,” said GBTA senior vice-president for advocacy and sustainability, Delphine Millot. “Notably, it proposes that when a service is cancelled, passengers should receive a full refund of the ticket price including the intermediation fee charged by the intermediary.”

The European Council has taken a different position again from both the Commission and Parliament. It wants intermediaries to “transparently disclose the amount/percentage of the fee that they commit to reimburse in case of a cancellation,” said Millot. “Intermediaries can decide that this ‘fee reimbursable’ is zero, as long as it is disclosed at time of booking.” GBTA is content with the Council’s stance.

VDR president Christoph Carnier said that while the idea of receiving a TMC fee refund for a cancelled trip is superficially attractive, “on the other hand the agency has done the work and the cancellation is not their fault. Why should it be for free? It would be unfair if they had to give money back. There is a risk they would increase their fees as a result.”

GBTA agrees. “Travel intermediaries provide booking, servicing, reporting, duty-of-care support and disruption management,” said Millot. “These services are delivered regardless of whether the carrier later cancels a flight or train journey.” In addition to higher intermediary fees, other potential adverse consequences listed by Millot include intermediaries withdrawing some services, and the introduction of “uncertainty into contract structures that rely on clear separation between the transport service and the intermediary’s services.”

Millot added: “While we hope the Parliament will back down, we are not sure about this. GBTA will reach out to relevant MEPs to explain why we think this is not fair and not even in the interest of customers.”

Meanwhile, VDR is making representations to the German government. Several member states are believed to be undecided on intermediary fee refunds. The Danish Presidency of the EU has asked “member states in a confidential note how far they are prepared to move towards the Parliament’s position on this,” said Amaury Libbrecht, EU affairs director for EU Travel Tech, an advocacy group whose members include American Express Global Business Travel and the three major global distribution systems.

Denmark hopes to finalise the enforcement regulation alongside EU261 before its presidency ends on 31 December, but the differing positions within the trilogue make meeting this deadline less likely.

Other EU legislation that could affect business travel

Numerous other EU laws of relevance to travel managers are in the process of being finalised, drafted or reviewed.

Trilogue negotiations over the revision of EU261 are proving contentious. The European Council wants to extend the existing three-hour starting point for delay compensation to four hours for short-haul flights and nine hours for long-haul. Parliament wants to scrap this extension and mandate a free cabin bag in the price of an air ticket. Airlines have condemned Parliament’s proposal.

The passenger rights enforcement regulation is part of a Passenger Rights Package that includes two other elements also in trilogue negotiations. One is a revision of the Package Travel Directive, which protects customers who buy combined travel arrangements. Obligations placed on travel organisers within scope of the directive include compulsory purchase of insolvency protection to refund customers if they go bust.

The directive is principally aimed at organisers of package holidays and other consumer travel. The current version keeps out of scope business travel booked through general contracted agreements between intermediaries and their corporate clients. The European Commission considered abandoning this exemption, but now a proposed European Parliament amendment goes the other way by taking all business travel out of scope, including business trips booked ad hoc.

It is not clear whether Parliament’s proposal, which VDR said would help small TMCs, will be adopted, but GBTA and EU Travel Tech are confident that at least business travel will not end up back in scope in the final text. However, given how trilogue horse-trading can throw up surprises, “I am always worried until it is signed,” said VDR’s Carnier.

The final part of the Passenger Rights Package is the multimodal passenger rights regulation, ensuring consistency across a journey that, for example, includes both air and rail elements. Rights include clear, accessible information, assistance and support in the event of delays, and compensation for the entire trip in the event of disruption.

At the GBTA Europe/VDR conference in Hamburg earlier this month, Commission head of unit for mobility and transport Moumen Hamdouch announced that the Commission will publish three related draft regulations in the first half of 2026. The Revision of Rail Passenger Rights Regulation enshrines passenger rights for multi-leg rail journeys involving more than one operator when booked in a single transaction. Passengers will be carried on onward journeys even if they miss their original ticketed connection.

The long-planned Multimodal Digital Mobility Services Regulation will oblige train operators to open their booking systems to competitors. And the Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation aims to ensure European citizens can buy a ticket for their entire trip on one platform and have passenger rights across the entire trip.

Away from transport issues, A1 forms continue to be a bureaucratic nightmare. Introduced in 2010, cross-border workers are required to carry an A1 to provide proof of payment of social security in another country. In October 2025, the Commission told BT4Europe it recognises the “administrative burden caused by the current A1 rules”  and that an exemption for short-term business travel is “under discussion”.

However, achieving such an exemption is far from guaranteed. “We have won the battle but we haven’t won the war,” said BT4Europe chair Patrick Diemer. “The European Parliament and European Council need to vote in favour. We have heard a rumour that some countries are not convinced.” A business travel compliance specialist also confirmed to BTN Europe that several member states are resistant to any social security concessions and on the contrary are beefing up enforcement, with added paperwork checks.

Acknowledging the difficulties, Carnier said: “The trouble is that this is not an isolated topic. Business travel is just a tiny piece within the bigger problem of cross-border social security regulation. They don’t realise the administrative burden it is causing.” VDR continues to lobby Berlin on the matter.

One business travel-friendly reform in the bag is last month’s green light for CountEmissions EU, a common, albeit voluntary, framework for quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions of transport services across different modes. Diemer said BT4Europe will now campaign for the EU to produce an equivalent standard for reporting emissions by the hospitality sector.