regulation


Atol and package travel reform continues to stall


THE DELAY to Atol reform, confirmed in January 2024 by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Department for Transport (DfT), extended through to the start of 2025. Speaking at Abta’s Travel Matters


conference in December, aviation minister Mike Kane noted the delay, saying: “I ask for your patience. I know you’ve been waiting a long time.” He said the 'f7 KRSHG “WR SURYLGH DQ XSGDWH QH[W year [2025]” and pledged to “ensure an adequate transition period”. The reform process began with a consultation in April 2021 and the proposals and industry reaction to these have been covered in previous editions of this report. Deloitte legal director Luke Golding


noted: “There is hope of a consultation on detailed proposals in 2025, but it seems to have hit a brick wall. We’re way past the CAA’s original target of April 2024 for reform to come in. I would be surprised if we see substantive developments in 2025.” Reform of the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) appeared similarly stalled. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) issued a call for evidence


Businesses need to be aware of the provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act


on reform proposals in September 2023. Craig Belsham, assistant director for partnerships and international consumer policy at the DBT, acknowledged the delay when he told the annual general meeting of Aito, The Specialist Travel Association, in October: “Priorities shift with a new government. The department’s immediate focus is on employment rights ە DQG ZLOO EH IRU WKH QH[W IHZ PRQWKV In the meantime, the European Commission moved forward on its review of the Package Travel Directive (PTD) on which the PTRs are based. Its original proposal included restrictions on advanced payments to travel organisers and on collecting balances, as well as a broadening of cancellation rights to include unavoidable DQG H[WUDRUGLQDU\ FLUFXPVWDQFHV DW a traveller’s place of residence. Golding suggested neither of these


ATOL authorisations hit a new high going into 2025 (Figure 56)


FIGURE 56: ATOL AUTHORISATIONS, 2018-24


Atol holders and authorisations


2000 1500 1000 500 0


5m 10m 15m 20m 25m 30m 35m


2018 2019 Atol holders


2022 2023 2024 Atol authorisations


%


10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80


0


Leading Atol holders as % of total


proposals are likely to be added to reform of the PTRs, pointing out: “The thrust of the PTRs reform consultation was to look at ways of striking a better balance between consumer protection and business freedoms. The industry provided its views on those proposals. To move to a position more like the PTD reform proposal would be a significant change. We would be going from ‘Can we strike a better balance’ to putting a lot more on the shoulders of package organisers to better protect consumers. It would be surprising to see a significant shift from those proposals now towards putting additional obligations on organisers.” He noted: “We saw the European


2018 Top 5


2019 2022 2023 2024** Top 10 *March 2019, figure rounded **December 2024 authorisations Source: CAA/Travel Trade Consultancy


Council’s negotiating position on the PTD proposals in December and it pushed back on some of the more challenging aspects of reform from a package organiser’s perspective. The Council proposed striking out the advanced payment restrictions and the reference to a traveller’s place of residence.” Both the PTR and PTD reform


proposals raised the prospect of clarifying an organiser’s right to refunds from


38 Travel Weekly Insight Report 2025


2,000* 28.1m 1,814 25.7m


1,567 26.3m


1,584 1,582


31.6m 33.3m


50% 61% 53% 65% 62% 75%


63% 66%


77% 74%


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