Back in the peak period of the Coronavirus period....the airlines basically shutdown. If you were in some exotic place of the world as a German, you were basically screwed. Tens of thousands were in this situation.
ARD (public TV, Channel One) brings up this topic here in the AM today.
I essayed this dilemma on a number of occasions. What was created by the German Foreign Ministry....was a contracted airline situation where you contacted the your German embassy in the country you were in, and one plane was flown (Lufthansa ended up as the appointed airline). You boarded and flew home.
So the problem at that point....the Foreign Embassy would cover the cost at that point, but you would sign a document to board, and it basically said a review would occur later, and you probably would have to pay for the ticket.
Well....late in the past week....the invoices started to be mailed out to the people affected. Prices range from 200 to 1,000 Euro (each).
The cost of the whole episode? 94-million Euro.
An all-German listing? Well....no. Some are from other EU lands, and they appear to be getting the bills as well.
An unfairness to this? If you had travel insurance and got stuck in South Africa or New Zealand....the odds are in your favor that the insurance will cover this type of event. Without insurance? Your return ticket from x-airline should amount to something but it means drafting the paperwork and hoping for a refund on your failed return flight.
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