皇冠体育app

People booking a holiday abroad are set to benefit from a clearer more extensive protection scheme after the government confirmed it would press ahead with reforms to the Air Travel Organisers鈥� Licensing (ATOL) scheme. 皇冠体育app reforms - made necessary by changes in the holiday market - will see the ATOL scheme undergo the biggest overhaul for more than a decade. 皇冠体育app changes are expected to ensure around 6 million more holidays receive protection.

In a statement to Parliament, the Aviation Minister, 皇冠体育appresa Villiers, outlined a series of changes to ATOL which the government aims to implement by the end of the year. Subject to a Spring consultation on the details, the reforms will:

• extend protection to include 鈥榝light plus鈥� holidays. This would cover trips including a flight where the various elements are purchased within a specified short period - essentially looking like a package holiday but falling outside the existing legal definition.
• deter businesses from misleading consumers about their level of protection. Some companies offer holidays which might look like packages but make the transaction as an 鈥渁gent for the customer鈥� without explaining to the customer that this means forfeiting ATOL protection. 皇冠体育appse proposals are designed to provide customers with a clear and honest explanation so they can make informed decisions.
• replace the wide variety of documents which companies currently issue with standardised information for travellers, making it clear when their trip is ATOL protected. Work on this is already underway, with the Civil Aviation Authority and the travel industry developing an easily recognisable certificate for protected holidays.

皇冠体育appse reforms will be achieved through new regulations, existing legislation and making greater use of unfair trading rules.

In addition to ensuring the ATOL scheme is better suited to the modern holiday market, the proposals will also help to reduce the deficit in the fund which covers refunds and repatriation in the event of insolvency. Following a number of high-profile collapses in recent years, the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF) relies on a Government guarantee, currently worth 拢42m, and Ministers see the reduction of this as very important.

皇冠体育appresa Villiers said:

Since it was introduced, ATOL has provided protection for millions of holiday makers and I am determined to see this continue. Insolvencies in recent years have shown us how important it is that customers are able to buy protected holidays, but recent court cases have only served to highlight the fact that the scheme is in need of reform. 皇冠体育appse changes will remove much of the confusion surrounding ATOL, while ensuring operators who offer such holidays provide customers with the financial protection they expect.

As well as improving protection for passengers, these reforms will help us put ATTF finances back on track so that taxpayers鈥� exposure to the fund鈥檚 deficit is rapidly reduced and ultimately eliminated.

I also believe there may be a case for new primary legislation to address other issues in the ATOL scheme and I will be considering this further in the course of the year.

Further information

ATOL is a scheme that protects consumers on package holidays and some flights from the insolvency of their tour operator or travel agent. It is run by the Civil Aviation Authority.In the past 12 months, 43,637 holidaymakers were repatriated under the scheme and a further 132,820 received full refunds when their ATOL tour operator went bust.

Most businesses selling package holidays including a flight have to have an ATOL licence issued by the CAA. Businesses pay 拢2.50 for each booking into a Fund that meets the costs of refunds and repatriations. 皇冠体育app Fund is currently operating at a deficit, and relies on a government guarantee, currently 拢42 million, to access commercial borrowing facilities to meet its obligations.

皇冠体育app ATOL scheme was first put in place on a statutory basis in the early 1970s. It was last substantially overhauled in 1995.

Airlines are legally exempt from the requirement to hold an ATOL, however any package holidays they sell must still be financially protected. A number of UK airlines have subsequently set up subsidiary companies to sell package holidays that do have an ATOL licence.

Legally, businesses are required to have an ATOL licence if they sell package holidays or certain 鈥榝light only鈥� tickets to customers. Some businesses, however, do not technically 鈥榮ell鈥� the flight element of a holiday, instead they buy it on behalf of the customer, sometimes using the customer鈥檚 credit card details. This arrangement, referred to here as 鈥榓gent for the customer鈥�, does not require an ATOL licence. Customers buying a flight and accommodation in this way are not therefore protected by the ATOL scheme, but may be unaware of this.