Package holidays: no vouchers without your consent

The revised Package Travel Directive is in force; countries now have 28 months to apply it.

The revised Package Travel Directive entered into force on 28 May 2026. When a package is cancelled, the organiser may only give you a voucher instead of a refund if you expressly agree, and an unused voucher must be refunded automatically. If the organiser goes bust, you must get your money back within six months, and complaints must be answered within 60 days. The confusing category of “linked travel arrangements” disappears.

For youFor now your national package-travel rules apply as before. The Commission has encouraged organisers to apply the voucher rules straight away — ask for a refund, not a voucher.

Next: Member states have 28 months to write the rules into national law, and they become binding on travel companies six months after that — around 2029.

Verified against the sources above on 29 September 2026. Plain-language summary — not the legal text and not legal advice.