‘As it happens, the mass rioting taking place in Athens, Greece at the moment cannot be classified as act of God. Officially, this is only some military action that is recognized as the act of God and thus enables a customer to refuse to travel to a particular country without pecuniary loss. The customers are always informed of all these conditions when the agreement for a holiday is signed at a travel agent’s. When this agreement with the tour operator gets signed, the clerks usually suggest that some refusal insurance should be obtained as well, but this insurance policy is paid for separately,’ Director of Amadeus Travel Lyudmila Leonovitch explained to UrBC.

‘Should the travelers decide not to go after all, they have to fill in an application that explains the reasons for not going. Upon this, their travel agent will go through with the cancellation of the agreement. In whichever case, some commission will be withheld anyhow. However, the amount of the money withheld will depend on how early or how late a customer decides to cancel the trip. The shorter the notice, the more money will be lost. The cancellation penalty might reach between 10% and 90% of the trip’s cost. The cancellation process involves not only the travel agent but also the airport and the hotel management, who claim their own fines. This is why it is impossible to predict just how much money will be paid back to the customer, this is a unique case each and every time,’ Amadeus executive said.