ABTA – The Travel Association has welcomed the CAA’s update on ATOL reform and request for information from the industry.
ABTA says that it is right the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has provided its latest thinking, and that businesses will be invited to share views before firm proposals are developed, particularly as the first-stage consultation occurred at the height of COVID-related disruption within the industry.
ABTA will be responding to the CAA and has put in place plans to engage with members and the wider industry to inform its response.
As part of its process ABTA will be reconvening its focus groups on financial protection, which include representatives from the travel industry and the main financial services sectors, including banks, merchant acquirers, bond obligors and financial failure insurance providers.
The ABTA-led groups originally met in the summer to exchange views on current financial protection arrangements and the existing proposed options under the CAA’s ATOL Reform consultation. The groups also gave consideration to areas of duplication and/or overlap that could be removed or streamlined by changes to the ATOL scheme and/or longer-term revisions to the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) which are currently under a separate review by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said:
“We’re pleased to see the CAA publish this update on ATOL reform. It has been much-anticipated and today’s development is the next step in reaching clarity about future regulations and requirements.
“We’ll be consulting with our members to get their insight, and also bringing together representatives from the wider financial protection landscape in February. We’d really encourage members to engage with our process so that we can provide an informed and constructive response to influence the CAA’s decisions.”
