Tour operator FTI went bankrupt. The company announced that FTI Touristik GmbH has filed an application to open insolvency proceedings. “We are currently working hard to ensure that trips that have already started can be completed as planned.” Trips that have not yet started will probably no longer be able to be carried out or will only be carried out partially from June 4, 2024.
According to the information, only the brand of the tour operator FTI Touristik is initially directly affected by the bankruptcy filing.
According to the company, the following brands are involved:
- RTI in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands
- 5 before the flight in Germany
- BigXtra Turismo GmbH
- the rental vehicle brands DriveFTI and Cars and Camper
The affected services can be purchased at common travel agencies, on online booking platforms such as Sonnenklar.tv, Check24, Ab-In-den-Urlaub, HolidayCheck or on FTI booking platforms (fti.de, fti.at, fti. ch, fti.nl, 5vorflug.de, drive.de).
Not affected According to FTI, these are services booked with third-party providers (such as TUI, Alltours, DERTOUR, vtours) that were booked through the FTI Touristik portals.
An information page has been created for FTI customers www.fti-group.com/de/insolvency furnished. A free hotline can be contacted on +49 89 710451498.
Travel insurance fund comes into action for the first time
For travelers, this means: now it’s the turn of the German Travel Insurance Fund, which was launched in 2021 for the first time. If a travel supplier goes bankrupt, it must take care of repaying customers’ advance payments, if necessary, return transport for stranded tourists and their accommodation until return transport. You can find out what rights package travelers have in the event of insolvency and beyond in our Special law on travel and tourist packages.
Important for customers: the security certificate
Everyone who has already paid for the trip and everyone who is already on vacation and is concerned about continuing their stay and repatriation should check their documents for the so-called security certificate. In the event of the tour operator’s insolvency, the security certificate guarantees that travelers will be reimbursed for the travel price paid. This happens when travel services are canceled or when you receive payment requests from travel agency partners – for example, if a local hotel no longer receives payments from the tour operator.
The insurance certificate must describe the respective price of travel insurance in case of insolvency and indicate the insurance company with its address and contact details. This is usually the German Travel Price Protection Fund (DRSF). In certain circumstances, one of the insolvency insurance companies may also be appointed.
With this security certificate in hand, the consumer can be sure of receiving travel price payments back if the supplier and possibly its travel subsidiaries declare bankruptcy or insolvency within a short space of time and the booked trip is not carried out. , said the travel lawyer. Paul Degott from the dpa news agency.