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- Summer under the breath: who compensates tourists for expenses after the transport collapse
Summer under the breath: who compensates tourists for expenses after the transport collapse
Tourists from St. Petersburg, who in June 2025 could not fly out of the UAE due to the escalation in the Middle East, prepared a lawsuit and sent a collective complaint to the tour operator. According to the victims, the organizer of the holiday promised to repay the costs of the forced route change — then instead of St. Petersburg, people returned to Moscow and got home at their own expense. But the tourists did not receive compensation for self—purchased tickets - the tour operator, according to them, began to refer to "force majeure circumstances" and recommended contacting the airline. Izvestia dealt with who should be responsible in such situations.
Why are tourists going to go to court
More than 30 residents of St. Petersburg, who in June 2025 could not return to Russia from the UAE for several days due to the conflict in the Middle East, are going to sue the tour operator Fun&Sun (TT-Travel LLC). Iran's airspace was closed at that time, and, according to tourists, they were offered an alternative flight to Moscow, subject to full compensation by the tour operator for all costs of the return trip to St. Petersburg.
After arriving home, the customers sent claims to the tour operator, but the company refused to reimburse them for the additional costs. In response to the appeal (Izvestia has it) The company noted that the carrier has the right to cancel the flight and change the route if required by aviation security conditions.
"Due to force majeure circumstances, namely the closure of airspace over Iran and the adjustment of the flight program from the UAE, the flight on June 13, 2025 was canceled by the airline. The flight was carried out on June 17 and sent to Moscow," the document says.
Its authors noted that "the air carrier is responsible for changing the route," and recommended seeking compensation from Flydubai Airlines, which operated a flight from the UAE to Moscow.
In the collective complaint (Izvestia has it) In a letter sent to the tour operator in August 2025, customers noted that the agreed travel conditions had been "significantly violated," which led to a change in route, additional financial costs and significant inconvenience. So, one of the tourists had a return flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg that cost 24 thousand rubles, a family of two estimated the damage at 44 thousand rubles, and a family of four estimated the damage at 64 thousand rubles.
"We bought tickets at an increased cost and then flew on a plane full of the same tourists," tourist Irina Yakovleva told Izvestia. — We have included in our expenses those that arose after arrival. There is, for example, a case when a person did not come to work on time and was fined.
She once again confirmed that the tour operator, in a chat with tourists created to coordinate them in the UAE, promised refunds to everyone who flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
— The tour operator himself gave us a claim template, we collected the documents, sent them, but they all received the same refusal, — said Irina Yakovleva.
She also noted that some tourists sent appeals to Flydubai, which took them out of the United Arab Emirates.
"They said they had nothing to do with it, they just took us out," the tourist said.
Izvestia reviewed the messages in the chat rooms of the tour operator's representatives with clients.
"Tourists travel independently from Moscow to St. Petersburg. They keep all the documents confirming the purchase of the Msk-Spb flight," one of them says. "And you're sending a request for compensation to the law department."
"You purchase tickets at your own expense to other destinations from Moscow. Upon arrival home, you save the receipts and can contact our legal department through your travel agent (from whom you bought the ticket) to return the funds," says another of them. There were several such messages in the chat, as more and more tourists joined it.
However, this is not the only claim of people who have applied to compensate them for additional expenses. Margarita Fiveyskaya, a resident of St. Petersburg, who was vacationing in the UAE with her husband and two children, told Izvestia that the tour operator kept them in limbo.
— Our flight was canceled, but Fun&Sun convinced the tourists to go to the airport, saying that representatives of the travel agency would be there. We arrived, but there were no representatives," she said.
At least 15 tourists complained that instead of the promised five-star hotel, the tour operator Fun& Sun brought them to a small hotel, where they allegedly lived, including sex workers.
The peak of the large-scale air collapse in the UAE occurred on June 13 and 14, 2025. According to the Russian Union of Travel Industry, about 5-10 thousand passengers were waiting for their adjusted or canceled flights due to the closure of airspace over Iran. As of June 18, almost 2,000 Russians remained blocked in the UAE.
The tourists were mainly in the UAE cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, but there were also passengers who could not fly from Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand.
"Due to the closure of Iran's airspace, carriers continue to fly on modified routes to ensure flight safety — they have become longer, as they pass through the airspace of other states, in some cases landing for refueling," the Federal Air Transport Agency reported.
Several dozen Russians who bought tours from different tour operators complained that "they were abandoned to their fate." In particular, local media reported that travelers from the Amur Region and Bashkiria were forced to rent a hotel and book return tickets at their own expense at double or triple the cost.
Izvestia sent a request to Rospotrebnadzor with a request to provide data on how many tourists in Russia have filed complaints against tour operators due to the situation in the UAE.
Are tourists eligible for compensation
The press service of the tour operator Fun&Sun confirmed to Izvestia that they had received a collective complaint from tourists from St. Petersburg and promised to "send an official response to all applicants in the near future."
The tour operator is fully responsible to its customers, since the air transportation service is part of a package tour, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia, explained to Izvestia.
— Air transportation is the most common service, — he explained. — There could be another situation, for example, problems with the hotel, transfer or excursion. For example, a client bought an excursion as part of a tour, during which the bus had an accident and the person broke his arm. Will he require compensation from the driver or the transport company? He will demand compensation from the tour operator.
Tourists have the right to expect compensation for the costs of the return trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg, says Maria Belonogova, a lawyer in family and arbitration law. In her opinion, the tour operator from whom the clients bought the ticket is obliged to pay these funds.
— Tourists are very well protected by the law "On Consumer Protection". If a person has purchased a list of services, he must certainly receive them, otherwise the tour operator must compensate for the costs," she stressed.
In addition, tourists stuck in the UAE who could not go to work on time and received a fine for this, they can demand compensation if they collect the necessary evidence.
The situation with tourists who demand to compensate them for the cost of a flight to St. Petersburg is quite complicated from a legal point of view, says lawyer, specialist in civil cases and bankruptcy Victoria Shabanova.
— On the one hand, the tour operator is responsible to the consumer for the obligations assumed. An agreement must be concluded between the tour operator and the air carrier. But in every contract there is such a clause as the removal of liability in case of force majeure. Military actions relate precisely to such circumstances," she explained.
Makka Saligova, a lawyer at the Moscow Region Bar Association, agrees with this. According to her, the tour operator could have insurance against the risks of non-departure, but in this situation there is no guarantee that the case will be recognized as insured.
— Insurance companies usually exclude military operations from insurance coverage, — the lawyer specified.
In addition, the tour operator has mandatory financial support, which is paid in case of violation of the essential terms of the agreement on the sale of a tourist product. For example, non-fulfillment of obligations to provide a tourist with transportation and accommodation services included in the package.
"In the situation with tourists in the UAE, the key issue for the court will be the qualification of what happened: is the refusal to compensate for the transfer from Moscow to St. Petersburg part of the improper fulfillment of obligations," the lawyer explained.
During the flight delay, tourists should be provided with free accommodation in partner hotels, Victoria Shabanova reminded. If an air carrier cancels or delays a flight for reasons beyond its control, it must take all possible measures to send the passenger to his destination.
"In this case, the responsibility falls on the carrier: he must prove that he has taken all possible actions to fulfill his obligations," the expert noted. — If tourists plan to go to court, then the parties to the case will most likely be not only the tourist and the tour operator, but also the air carrier.
How tourists defend their rights
Travelers stuck in the UAE who refused to compensate for the cost of a transfer to St. Petersburg can file a claim with the tour operator, contact Rostourism, Rospotrebnadzor, and then file a lawsuit, said lawyer Makka Saligova.
According to Maria Belonogova, such cases rarely occur in legal practice, and the court's decision will depend on what evidence each side provides.
The most widespread precedent in the field of tourism has become the courts related to the pandemic, said Makka Saligova. Then, due to the closure of borders and airspace, tourists were left without pre-paid travel packages.
According to the lawyer, initially the legislator really tried to help the market by allowing tour operators to offer certificates or postponement of the tour rather than a cash refund. But later, when many companies were unable to fulfill these obligations, a wave of lawsuits from tourists began. In most cases, the courts sided with the citizens, guided by the law "On Consumer Rights Protection".
At the same time, the summer of 2025 turned out to be a time of transport collapses. From July 5 to July 7, 2025, Russian airlines canceled 485 flights for safety reasons, about 1,9 thousand planes were delayed for departure and arrival, the Federal Air Transport Agency reported. Such restrictions were introduced in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Tambov, Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov. Passengers described the incident as an "apocalypse" — people were sleeping on the floor, complaining on social media about high food prices and lack of communication with airline representatives.
The lawyers interviewed by Izvestia described the situation as force majeure. Therefore, airlines are unlikely to reimburse passengers for cancelled flights. Nevertheless, this does not exempt air carriers from liability — the passenger has the right to demand an alternative flight by the nearest possible aircraft, as well as compensation for moral damage.
Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia that the interregional directorate of the service for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region received two requests for Fun&Sun from tourists who were unable to fly from the UAE to St. Petersburg in June 2025.
In general, since June 2025, Rospotrebnadzor and its territorial authorities have received 14 complaints against tour operators.
"They are related to the refusal to refund funds for the tour (including for a tour to the UAE) due to the consumer's illness, the refusal to reimburse losses due to the provision of services of inadequate quality, as well as the refusal to reimburse related expenses," the department said.
Rospotrebnadzor recalled that the tour operator is responsible for not providing or improperly providing services to the consumer included in the tourist product, regardless of who should have provided or provided these services.
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