Travel advice issue – Atol Protection

Travel issue advice: The CAA has rejected a demand for an additional six weeks’ consultation on its proposal to treble the Atol Protection Charge to £3, as opposition to the move mounts.

So whats all the fuss about, well the CAA wants operators and flight suppliers to pay £3.00 per passenger instead of £1 as it is today, not much you may think, but over thousands of tickets a fair sum.

What is Atol Protection?

ATOL protects you from losing your money or being stranded abroad.

It does this by carrying out checks on the tour operators and travel organisers it licenses, and requiring them to take part in a financial guarantee scheme managed by the Air Travel Trust (ATT) which provides the funds to protect customers should a firm fail.

In some cases a licence holder will also provide a bond, which is lodged with the ATT and provides additional funds.

If a tour operator goes out of business, the CAA will ensure you do not lose the money you paid over, or if you’re abroad, we’ll arrange for you to finish your holiday and fly home.

The CAA blames a combination of “exceptional factors” for the crisis in the fund – the failure of the UK’s third largest travel group XL Leisure last September and a sharp fall below industry forecasts in

the number of protected sales due to the recession.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer wrote to the authority this week asking for more time because, he claimed, the CAA had not supplied information Abta had demanded.
Abta chief exec Mark Tanzer

And Trading Standards, in its response to the consultation, warned the planned increase would see more travellers “vote with their feet” and buy unprotected trips.