04 Aug
2021

Local Financial Criteria amended for 2021/22

Earlier this year, ABTA participated, alongside the Business Travel Association and a number of travel agents and airlines, in an IATA Financial Advisory Group (FAG) to consider the need for further changes to the Local Financial Criteria in the coming year – taking account of the ongoing pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 on the financial position of the industry. The result was a recommendation to relax the profitability tests for agents in the coming year, providing agents were able to demonstrate net positive equity. Full details can be found here. The criteria will be reviewed again in March 2022.

Excess void charges

Effective 1 October 2021, IATA will be introducing within the UK market new fees for all same-day ticket cancellations above a maximum threshold of 5%. The fee, which will be charged at USD 1.45 per transaction, will apply to every cancelled ticket above the 5% threshold. 

Starting from this month, each Accredited Agent will receive a new BSP Report called FCAGCHARGES, for each Billing Period, detailing the number of total reported transactions, cancellations and excess voids: this will give agents an opportunity to review the number of voids and identify remedial measures to reduce them under 5% of total reported transactions, thus avoiding the new charge after 01 October 2021. 

If you have any questions on either of these issues, please email publicaffairs@abta.co.uk.