Top operators slash Atols by 5m


Ben Ireland and Lee Hayhurst


The contraction of the UK package travel industry as a result of Covid-19 was laid bare this week as the top 10 Atol-holders reduced their licences by a collective five million passengers. The big two reduced their


licences for the next 12 months by more than three million between them, CAA figures show. Tui is now licensed to carry 3,7437,831, down from 5,555,145 last year, while Jet2holidays can carry 3,479,182, down from 4.8 million in April, and 3,915,000 last October. Aside from OTAs On the Beach


and Loveholidays, which renewed their Atols in April, it was a similar story across the top 10. British Airways Holidays


contracted to 598,522 from just over one million in April, easyJet Holidays dropped from 726,000 to 547,413 and its separate Atol for easyJet Airlines from 793,874 to 341,602. Lastminute.com parent Bravo


Next was down from 640,555 to 433,173 and Expedia from 874,208 to 317,009. Travel Republic slipped to 12th, down from 555,060 to 165,265. Licences can be increased


throughout the year. Only 995 of the 1,261


Atol licences that expired on


The reality, for most businesses, is there is going to be no travel for the next six months


September 30 were renewed, with a further 90 pending as of October 1. The CAA said 176 did not apply for renewal, compared with 51 this time last year and 117 in 2018, when changes to the Package Travel Regulations came in. Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the


Association of Atol companies, said “everybody” had been “cautious”, and pointed out that having a larger licence was more costly.


“The reality, for most businesses,


is there is going to be no travel for the next six months,” he added. Speaking on an Elman Wall


webinar, the CAA’s head of licensing operations for Atol, Michael Budge, said there had been an increase in small-licence and franchise holders choosing not to renew. He said this was “par for the course” and the regulator had been “proportionate and measured” in its assessment of cashflow amid Covid-19. Budge also told the webinar


that confirmation of whether refund credit notes issued after September 30 would continue to have Atol protection should come next week.


Turkey’s removal from list ‘piles the pressure on’


Juliet Dennis


Agents say the unexpected removal of Turkey from the UK’s travel corridor list has left them despairing, with few destinations left to sell and clients questioning whether to book at all this winter. Transport secretary Grant Shapps


announced last week travellers returning to the UK from Turkey, along with Poland, would be subject to 14-day quarantine as of October 3. Turkey had been one of the few mainstream destinations still considered a ‘safe bet’ to book. Tui, Thomas Cook and


4 8 OCTOBER 2020


Jet2holidays cancelled holidays to Turkey, with the last of these increasing capacity to some Greek islands that remain quarantine-free. Pole Travel had six Turkey


bookings affected. Owner Jill Waite said: “Holidays to Greece doubled in price and there is nothing in the price range for our clients. People are now asking ‘is it worth booking anywhere?’ We can’t disagree; we’ve had discussions as to whether it’s worth taking a last-minute booking.” Paul Knapper, owner of Spires


Travel, which had a “handful” of bookings affected, described the situation as “disheartening”.


“We’ve administered some


bookings two, three or even four times this year – each taking time to source, rebook and administer, only for it to end up being cancelled,” he said. “In the hope of retaining already-


banked commission, we’ve processed some bookings but still ended up with no income.” The government withdrew


Turkey from its corridors list over concerns around how Covid cases were reported in the country. Advantage Travel Partnership


chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said said restrictions on Turkey were “the final blow for an industry already on


Bodrum, Turkey


its knees”; SPAA president Joanne Dooey said the move “diminishes, to a point of almost zero, the destinations agents can sell”; and Abta said the loss of Turkey “piles the pressure on a struggling sector”. Prospects for the winter market as


a whole appear gloomy. On the Beach chief executive Simon Cooper said “low levels of bookings” so far this year, combined with a “low appetite to book”, would make for a “hugely loss- making” season for travel firms that choose to operate. Speaking at last week’s virtual Travolution Summit, he predicted “the same level of shutdown we had in March, April and May”.


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Shutterstock


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