Recital 35

(35)In order to ensure consistency, it is appropriate to align the provisions of this Directive with international conventions regulating travel services and with the Union passenger rights legislation. Where the organiser is liable for failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in the package travel contract, the organiser should be able to invoke the limitations of the liability of service providers set out in such international conventions as the Montreal Convention of 1999 for the Unification of certain Rules for International Carriage by Air ⁶ , the Convention of 1980 concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) ⁷ and the Athens Convention of 1974 on the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea ⁸ . Where it is impossible to ensure the traveller's timely return to the place of departure because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the organiser should bear the cost of the travellers' necessary accommodation for a period not exceeding three nights per traveller, unless longer periods are provided for in existing or future Union passenger rights legislation.