What is ATOL and what does it do for me?

ATOL is a protection scheme for flights and air holidays, managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Most firms who sell air travel in the UK are required by law to hold a license called an ATOL.

ATOL protects you from losing money or being stranded abroad when a tour operator goes out of business. All licensed firms have to lodge bonds with the CAA so that if they go out of business, the CAA can give refunds to people who can’t travel and arrange for people abroad to finish their holidays and fly home.

ATOL protection is included in the price of a holiday booked with an ATOL holder, and there’s a Government-backed fund called the Air Travel Trust that steps in if any ATOL bond isn’t enough to look after everyone affected by a failure.

How can I tell if a flight or air holiday is ATOL Protected?

The simple rule is 'Ticket or ATOL'.

If you pay any money – even a deposit – to a travel firm in the UK for a flight or a package holiday by air, the sale usually has to be ATOL protected unless you get a scheduled air ticket straight away. A travel agent may not have its own ATOL but it must book you with a firm that does hold one, and tell you which ATOL you’re protected by. And as soon as you pay any money, it must give you a special 'ATOL Receipt'.

The exceptions to the 'Ticket or ATOL' rule are -

• It doesn’t apply if you book direct with an airline, rather than with a travel firm – your booking won’t be ATOL protected.
• If you book from outside the UK, you probably won’t be ATOL protected.
• If you buy a scheduled airline ticket from a travel agent that is part of a chain, there may be a short delay while it obtains your ticket from a central office, and there is a legal dispensation allowing it to do this. This doesn’t apply to discounted tickets or packages

The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 3292. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.

Financial protection is something that we don’t normally think about until something goes wrong, of course – and that’s the time when we regret not having looked into it properly.  It’s a complex issue, particularly in the travel industry – but you can relax when you book an AITO holiday because AITO members comply with the highest standards of consumer protection.  Every AITO holiday is backed not only by AITO’s Quality Charter but also by full financial protection.

Quite simply, if an AITO operator goes out of business for any reason, you will (depending on your holiday dates) either receive a full refund or will be able to complete your holiday as planned, with repatriation arranged at the end of your holiday.  You will not be required to pay anything else and all arrangements will be made on your behalf.

In these times of change – the web and no-frills airlines being two key areas – it’s even more important to know your hard-earned money is safe.  Did you know that, when you book direct or via the web with a scheduled (including no-frills) airline, your money is not protected?  Did you know that over 15 no-frills airlines have gone out of business in the last 24 months?  Did you know that national carriers such as Swissair and Sabena have also ceased to trade?  Anyone who had paid money up-front to any of these airlines (the latest to go out of business, at the end of July 2005, is EU Jet) may well find that they cannot claim it back (even when they have paid with a credit card, because there are so many exclusions with different credit card companies).

Bonded tour operators, however, offer full financial back-up – and many operators will happily book a no-frills flight for their customers, which mean the flight will then be protected via the operator’s insurance cover.

There are many different ways for tour operators to arrange financial protection for their clients.  Air-inclusive holidays are, for example, protected by the Air Travel Organisers’ Licence (ATOL) and monitored by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).  Non-air holidays (self-drive by car, or travel by coach or train, for example) can be covered by a wide range of DTI-approved organisations, including AITO Trust (AITO’s own bonding arm), ABTA, the Travel Trust Association and others.

AITO makes it simple for you, however.  No matter the type of holiday you book, you can relax in the knowledge that AITO monitors its members closely and that AITO offers you its own guarantee of financial protection.
It means that you can relax and enjoy your AITO holiday from the moment that you book it!