BUSINESS NEWS
Insurance cover for the ATT fund is no longer in place following Thomas Cook’s expensive collapse in 2019, but trustees assert the government would provide ‘additional financial support’ if required
Atol-protection fund topped £278m in June
Analysis: Industry can be confident in event of large Atol failure. Ian Taylor reports
The Air Travel Trust fund’s return to its level before Thomas Cook’s collapse and on to a record high should quash concerns about its long-term viability. The trust’s latest accounts note
the fund held £278 million at the end of June and it will be above £300 million now, backed by a £75 million overdraft facility which has been extended to next May. The insurance the trust formally
held in case of a major travel group’s failure – which was called on to cover the repatriation and refund
64 4 SEPTEMBER 2025
costs of Thomas Cook’s collapse – has not been replaced, presumably due to the reluctance of insurers. This cover was provided by a
panel of insurers at a cost of up to £12 million a year and paid out more than £192 million following Cook’s failure, allowing for a total call of £448 million on the fund in 2019 – all but £3 million to cover the costs of Thomas Cook. The insurers had insisted the cover
be modified at the time of Cook’s Atol renewal in March 2019 due to intense speculation in both the market and
the media as to whether the group would survive. A condition of the policy renewal, this extended the trust’s liability from £150 million to £250 million when Cook failed. Despite the lack of replacement
insurance cover, the trustees make clear in their latest report that the government financial guarantee which provides the ultimate backstop to Atol protection remains in place. They note that “should a large
Continued on page 62
travelweekly.co.uk
BUSINESS NEWS
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Markus Mainka
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
