CAUTION: Following the FTI bankruptcy, there are phishing attempts via SMS and email to steal bank details from FTI customers. Consumers should always check exactly who the sender is.
☐ Am I affected by the insolvency?
Firstly, establish whether your trip should be organised by an FTI Group company affected by the insolvency.
In general, all services booked under the umbrella brand FTI Touristik GmbH are affected. This includes the brands FTI Germany, FTI Austria, FTI Netherlands, 5vorFlug, BigXtra Touristik GmbH, as well as DriveFTI, Cars&Campers and Meeting Point Rent-a-Car.
The services of these tour operators are not only affected if they were booked via the company's own platforms (fti.de, fti.at, fti.ch, fti.nl, 5vorflug.de, drive.de), but also if the trip was booked via other travel agencies or online booking platforms such as Check24, Ab-In-den-Urlaub, HolidayCheck etc..
On the other hand, it was also possible to book services from other travel providers such as TUI, Alltours, DERTOUR, Vtours etc. via FTI websites. These are not affected by the insolvency!
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
☐ Booked and paid, and FTI cancels the tour
The insolvency administrator of FTI has announced (on Friday 14.6.2024) that all travel services, including those after 5 July 2024, will now be cancelled by FTI. It is important to distinguish whether you had booked a package holiday (case 🅰️) or individual tourist services such as flight, hotel, transfers or excursions (case 🅱️):
🅰️If you had booked a package travel deal,
you have purchased several services such as a flight ticket and hotel accommodation at a total price.
Good news, based on the EU Package Travel Directive, a tour operator must protect all customer monies received for package holidays in the event of insolvency. You will find a insurance certificate in your travel documents. The insurer of the tour operator FTI is the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF). All payments (deposits and balance payments) will therefore be reimbursed in full by the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF). You can use our sample letter (✉️ Download in German language) to reclaim your payments from the German Travel Guarantee Fund.
Deutscher Reisesicherungsfonds GmbH,
Adresse: Sächsische Straße 1, 10707 Berlin
E-Mail: kontakt@drsf.reise
🅱️If you had booked an individual service,
you have purchased an individual trip from FTI, e.g. an event ticket, a hire car, a flight or an overnight stay in a hotel.
There is not such good news here. Insolvency insurance only covers package holidays.
- As some banks and credit card companies offer a chargeback of payments already made in the event of insolvency, we advise you to contact your financial institution as soon as possible and request a refund of the travel costs (so-called sales complaint or charge back).
- If a chargeback is not possible, you can register your claim for the unperformed service with the insolvency administrator. FTI filed for insolvency at the Munich Local Court on 3 June 2024 (for BigXtra Touristik GmbH on 6 June 2024). Axel Bierbach was appointed as provisional insolvency administrator. In the insolvency proceedings, it will be decided whether and to what extent a quota from the bankruptcy estate will be paid out to creditors. As soon as we have more detailed information on the filing of claims, we will inform you here.
☐ Your journey should start in a few days or later
Update 17.6.2024: All future travel services will be cancelled by FTI!
❗Important: Wait and don't cancel yourself
Under no circumstances should you cancel yourself! You must wait for the cancellation from the tour operator FTI or the insolvency administrator. Otherwise, there is a risk that you will lose your insolvency cover, particularly in the case of package holidays or linked travel services.
Recommendation: If the insolvency administrator has promised to provide the travel services, you should also request written confirmation of the provision of the travel services from the service providers themselves (e.g. hotel, airline).
☐ Remaining payment for package holiday still unpaid?
If your booked package holiday or associated travel service is still pending and you still have to make a final payment, please contact the insolvency administrator before paying. He must inform you immediately whether the booked trip will be carried out or not.
If the trip is cancelled by the insolvency administrator, you no longer have to make the final payment. The same applies if you do not receive any information from the insolvency administrator. In this case, you can invoke the defence of uncertainty. Inform the insolvency administrator that you will only make the final payment when you receive written confirmation that the package holiday will be carried out.
As soon as the insolvency administrator confirms in writing that the package holiday will be carried out, you must always make the final payment. Your payments (original deposit and also the subsequent final payment) are covered by the insolvency insurance. In any case, it is advisable to transfer your final payment on the last possible day.
☐ Remaining payment still outstanding for booked individual service?
Individual travel services such as flights, hotels or hire cars are not covered by the insolvency insurance of the German travel insurance fund.
In contrast to package holidays, individual travel services are therefore subject to an increased risk. If service providers become insolvent, travellers may have to register their payments in insolvency proceedings and could ultimately be left empty-handed.
To protect yourself against this, if you have only booked a hire car, a hotel room or a flight, for example, you should only make the payment once you have written confirmation that the service will actually be provided.
In this case, you can invoke the so-called defence of uncertainty. Inform the insolvency administrator and FTI that you will only make the final payment when you receive written confirmation that the travel service (flight, hotel accommodation, hire car) will be provided.
If the individual travel service is cancelled by the insolvency administrator, you no longer have to make the final payment.
In this case, we advise you to try to obtain a chargeback from your bank or credit card company for the advance payment you have already made. If this is not possible, you can register the loss in the insolvency proceedings. As soon as we have more detailed information on filing a claim, we will pass it on here.
☐ Package holiday booked and already underway
If you are already travelling as part of a package tour and have booked via FTI, 5vorFlug or BigXtra, the statutory insurance cover provided by the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF) applies.
Your paid travel services are covered by this insolvency insurance. Your holiday should not be affected.
If you have to cancel your trip due to insolvency, you will be contacted by the German Travel Security Fund. A return journey will be organised for you.
In any case, you can contact the 24h support hotline:
☎️ Customer emergency hotline (8 am-10 pm) +49 (0)89 710 45 14 98
If you have to pay again for services you have already paid for during your holiday (e.g. an overnight stay), we can give you the following tips:
- Present the declaration of assumption of costs from the German Travel Assurance Fund (DRSF) to reluctant hoteliers on site. The payment of the service is insured in several languages:
- If you still have to pay again on site, keep this invoice in a safe place. You can subsequently reclaim these costs by means of a sample letter from DRSF. (✉️ Download in German language)
☐ Individual service booked and already underway
The travel company FTI informs on its website that it will carry out individually booked services (hotel accommodation, hire car, motorhome, excursions, airport transfers) to the best of its ability. However, there is no guarantee that the travel services will be carried out.
If necessary, please contact the 24-hour support hotline:
☎️ Customer emergency hotline (8 am-10 pm): +49 (0)89 710 45 14 98
