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Operators braced for hurricane legal action
Holidaymakers who were stranded in makeshift shelters as Hurricane Wilma pounded Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula are launching a group action against tour operators.
Solicitors Alexander Harris are representing around 250 customers who travelled with MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Thomson, First Choice and Cosmos.
It is believed they are claiming they should not have been flown to Mexico in the first place and that once Wilma struck, not enough was done to help.
Health law firm Alexander Harris specialist travel litigation solicitor Simon Taylor said shortly after the devastation: “If a tour operator knows of a significant problem before departure, they have a duty to allow customers to cancel their trip and receive a full refund.
“If the operator becomes aware of a problem after departure they must try to make suitable alternative arrangements or to offer to bring their customers home at no extra cost. Customers would also be entitled to compensation.”
If these were not met, operators would be in breach of contract and holidaymakers entitled to receive damages, said Taylor.
He said today: “We currently act for over 250 people who were flown out to Mexico in the days immediately before Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun.
“Those holidaymakers feel that the tour operators should have been aware of the oncoming hurricane, in which case they had a duty to inform customers and to offer full refunds.
“There are also strong suggestions that the tour operators did not do enough to care for their customers who were already in the resort. This would also amount to a breach of regulations, for which customers would be entitled to compensation.”
Federation of Tour Operators director general Andy Cooper defended members in what he described were particularly difficult circumstances.
“It’s easy to look back at say they could have done something different,” he told TravelMole. “Trying to second guess the path of a hurricane is one of the hardest issues the industry faces. The biggest problem was that the hurricane lingered over Cancun for almost two days and the shelters are just not equipped for that.”
Almost 70 inches of rain fell on Cancun over 48 hours – London receives 23 inches in a year.
Report by Steve Jones
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