ABTA strongly objects to increased ATOL contribution

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Following the announcement of a plan to triple the ATOL contribution amount to £3, calls for reform to the passenger protection scheme are expected.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that it wants to raise the tour operator contribution to ATOL protection from £1 to £3 for each passenger, from 1 October.

According to the CAA, this “offers a reasonable balance between setting the rate as low as possible while providing resilience in the current period of economic uncertainty.” The authority is launching a consultation process into the increase in the contribution.

It has justified the request for a rise in the contribution by saying that the decline in air passenger numbers and collapse of XL Leisure last year led to the need for ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) rate changes.

“Previous industry bookings estimates, on which the current APC rate was based, are forecast to drop significantly as a result of the recession, directly affecting the income of the Air Travel Trust Fund,” the CAA added. “In addition, the failure of XL, which was the UK’s third largest tour operator when it collapsed in September 2008, has affected forecasts of ATTF expenditure.”

Thanks to www.travelmole.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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