Make sure your travel organiser can provide sufficient evidence of security for the refunding and repatriation of consumers in the event of insolvency. This security must be in place by one of the following:
- Holding an Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL)
- Bonding with an approved body such as ABTA, ABTOT, AITO, BCH, FTO
- A relevant insurance policy
- By holding consumer pre-payments in a trust account such as TTA
ATOL - Air Travel Organiser's Licensing.
- This is a protection scheme for flights and air holidays, managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ATOL is the only scheme for flights and air holidays sold by tour operators in the UK.
- ATOL protects you from losing money or being stranded abroad when a tour operator goes bust. All licensed firms have to lodge bonds with the CAA so that, if they go out of business, the CAA can give refunds to people who can't travel and arrange for people abroad to finish their holidays and fly home.
- ATOL protection is included in the price of a holiday booked with an ATOL-holder, and there is a Government-backed fund called the Air Travel Trust that steps in if any ATOL bond isn't enough to look after everyone affected by a failure.
- Once you pay any money - even a deposit - to a travel firm in the UK for a flight or a package holiday by air, it must give you an ATOL receipt. This gives the name of the licensed firm you're booked with, and its ATOL Number. It must honour your booking even if the agent goes out of business. And if it goes bust itself, you'll be protected by ATOL.
- If you are buying a scheduled flight only and you receive a ticket within 24 hours of payment or book direct with and airline your booking will not be ATOL protected.
- To find out more information about ATOL or to check whether a firm has a licence visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.
ABTA - Association of British Travel Agents.
- Members of ABTA - travel agents and tour operators - are required to provide financial protection for their customers. This means that you can book your holiday knowing that if an ABTA member fails financially while you are on holiday, you can continue your holiday as planned.
- If your holiday has not already started, you will receive a full refund or be given help to make alternative arrangements for the trip to proceed.
- You must remember that, in the event of the failure of a non-ABTA tour operator, even if the booking was made through an ABTA agent, you will not be covered.
- Where customers have broken the contract conditions, at the time of the financial failure, protection will not apply. Completed holidays will not be covered.
- To find out more information about ABTA visit the ABTA website at www.abta.co.uk.
AITO - Association of Independent Tour Operators
- In the unfortunate event of insolvency, all AITO bonded member companies are required to protect the money of customers resident in the UK at the time of booking their trip
- For holidays sold by AITO members that include flights, customers are protected by the member company’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing (ATOL) issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Further details can be found on the CAA website on www.caa.co.uk.
- For sea, rail or land based overseas holidays sold by AITO members, customers are protected by one of several schemes including an AITO Trust bond, an ABTA (Association of British Travel agents) bond, and an ABTOT (Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust) bond.
- If an AITO member goes into liquidation before you go on holiday, these schemes are designed to ensure that you will get your money back.
- If you are abroad at the time the member goes into liquidation, the scheme will ensure that you are repatriated to the UK if transport was included in the package. AITO members or the Association itself will be able to provide you with details of which scheme a particular member uses to ensure that their customers’ money is protected.
- To find out more information about AITO visit the AITO website at www.aito.co.uk.
