A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) consultation on increasing the ATOL passenger contribution (APC) levy which gives some consumers financial protection when they travel, has triggered a call for an overhaul of the scheme from ABTA.  

ABTA believes that the focus of the consultation should be to give protection to more holidaymakers not just those that buy traditional package holidays.

The present scheme of protection has not kept pace with the changes in holiday-buying habits meaning that many consumers believe that their money is protected when it isn’t.

A proposal for making these changes to financial protection has already been submitted by ABTA to both the CAA and the Government.  If the proposal were to be given the green light, any customer buying a flight plus accommodation would benefit from financial protection, not just those on package holidays. 

Currently, customers who buy package holidays that include flights should be protected under the ATOL scheme. Those customers flying on scheduled airlines or who buy elements of their holiday separately may not be protected, causing immense confusion and misunderstanding.