§ 35. Necessary overnight stays when the journey home cannot go ahead

This section is a safety rule for travellers who end up stranded. If the traveller cannot get home as agreed because of "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances", the organiser must pay for necessary overnight stays. The limit is no more than three nights. The overnight stay should, if possible, be of the same category as the services in the package holiday contract.

The three-night limit is not absolute. It does not apply if rules on passenger rights provide for longer periods for the means of transport in question, and the carrier cannot blame the extraordinary circumstances. Nor does it apply to certain vulnerable groups, for example pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, if the organiser has been told about the particular need at least 48 hours before the trip begins. The point is that travellers with particular needs should not be subject to the same time limit as others.

Example: The journey home is stopped by "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" and the traveller has to wait. The organiser pays for overnight stays for up to three nights. If the traveller had been pregnant and the organiser had been told in time, the three-night limit would not apply.

This section must be read together with the rules on what otherwise happens when the trip does not go as planned. Transport home where passenger transport (persontransport) is involved is covered in § 30, and cancellation of the contract (heving) in § 29. Compensation (erstatning) under § 32 may not be available when extraordinary circumstances are behind the defect (mangel). The duty to help travellers in difficulty is set out in § 36, and § 34 ensures that rights under transport legislation (transportrettslig lovgivning) continue to apply alongside price reduction (prisavslag) and compensation. The organiser's responsibility under § 25 refers to this section.