NEWS
Holidaymakers on flight-inclusive packages paid £79 million in Atol Protection Contributions in the year to March
Bumper package sales swell ATT protection fund to record levels
Ian Taylor
The Air Travel Trust fund (ATT) has surpassed its level before the collapse of Thomas Cook in 2019, which all but wiped it out. The fund, which underwrites Atol
protection, hit a record £261 million at the end of March this year, according to the latest accounts, up from £185 million the previous year and above the then record level of £221 million in March 2019. The figure will be
its continuing viability. But the post-pandemic resurgence in package holiday sales has defied predictions of long-term decline for the trade due to direct bookings of ‘low-cost’ flights and accommodation via platforms such as
Booking.com and Airbnb. The trust received £79 million
STORY TOP
considerably higher now given another strong year for outbound package sales and only two failures at a cost of about £600,000 since March, with Atol Protection Contributions (APCs) from summer travel swelling the fund further. Thomas Cook’s liquidation in
September in 2019 had slashed the trust’s surplus to £20 million and wiped out the ATT’s back-up insurance, leading to doubts about
travelweekly.co.uk
in APCs on bookings from 31.6 million passengers in the 12 months to March, up from 30.1 million passengers and £75.4 million in APCs the previous year – and from 26.3 million
passengers and £66 million for the 12 months to March 2019. The fund also accrued almost
£11 million in interest in the period, up from £7 million the year before. The trustees’ report noted that
2024 “marked another year of robust growth for the travel industry, with Atol-protected passenger numbers and revenue both seeing notable increases”. It suggested: “The proportion of outbound
31.6m
Travellers taking a package holiday in the 12 months to March
travellers covered by Atol rose to approximately 48%, up from 46% in 2023 as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).” However, 48% appears a gross
underestimate. The ONS recorded almost 88 million outbound trips and 56 million overseas holidays in the 12 months to March 2025, of which 49.3 million were by holidays by air, meaning the proportion of passengers protected by Atol (31.6 million) was 64% or almost two-thirds. The trustees noted travel
company balance sheets “showed further improvement across the industry”, but that “intensifying competition [began] to exert downward pressure on pricing”.
Despite this, they reported that
in March 2025: “Atol-protected bookings were up 5% year on year, with average prices increasing 10%.” The ATT’s annual admin costs
rose from £4.8 million to £4.9 million, with CAA charges for administering the ATT – collecting APCs, arranging banking facilities, handling claims and providing day-to-day financial and secretariat services – increasing from £1.8 million to a little over £2 million. The trust’s service charge
payments to Atol-accredited bodies and franchises rose from £2.76 million to almost £3 million, with the ATT also spending £400,000 on marketing and £113,000 on contingency planning including customer repatriation in case of a major Atol failure – more than double the amount the previous year. Seven Atol holders failed in the
year to March at a cost of £1.7 million to the fund, compared with six at a
cost of £4 million the previous year. i Analysis, back page
4 SEPTEMBER 2025 5
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Jaromir Chalabala
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