The Coalition is prepared to revive the plans which were rejected by Labour, following pressure from major airlines.
Below current arrangements shelter – Below the Air Travel Operators Licensing system (ATOL) system – is limited to those who have bought a package holiday.
There’s a growing faith in Whitehall that the arrangements have not retained up with the “do it yourself” holidays, in which families put together their own packages thru the internet.
Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, made clear that the Government was ready to overhaul the current system when he appeared before MPs earlier this week.
“We distinctly have a problem with the ATOL scheme”, he told the Transport Select Committee.
“Over the last few years the way in which persons buy holidays has changed,” he said.
“The use of the internet, the use of a much more à la carte approach to purchasing flights and accommodation has made the clear distinct amidst what’s a package holiday and what’s not a package holiday much less clear”.
Mr Hammond said that a extending the ATOL system to plane tickets was an option under contemplation.
Former proposals drawn up by the Civil Aviation Authority under the last Government would have added £1 to the cost of each trip.
It was drawn up following a serious of airline collapses, including Zoom, XL, Maxjet, Silverjet and Eos.
Last year almost 200 million flew abroad from British airports last year.
But the levy, if introduced, would only apply to those passengers who bought their tickets in the United Kingdom.
Ministers are also considering a compromise proposal in which the ATOL system would be extended to cover persons who bought a flight and one other component – suchlike accommodation or car hire – from the same internet-location or tour operator.
The willingness of the Coalition to revisit the system was welcomed by the Air Transport Users Council.
“We believe there is a need for a universal system which would include shelter for when a scheduled airline went bust. A levy would be the most practical their method this.
“Our own exploration has shown that less than a third of passengers even recognise they have any shelter or not.
“It may lead to a beautiful unpleasant shock and a hefty bill for a passenger when an airline fails.
“In the past when a carrier has failed, airlines have offered ‘special repatriation’ fares, but there is no guarantee they’ll next time. ”
The suggested levy was condemned by British Airways. "We would protest any move to be included in such a system as charging passengers an additional fee will put up prices for every one to defend the minority affected by scheduled airline failure," a spokesman said.
"We are a well traditional airline and it is going to be unfair if our clients had to fund compensation for those who choose to travel on less traditional airlines.
"Due to our passenger numbers, our clients would pays a substantial allocation of the funding to provide shelter against other airlines' bankruptcy. "
![[Valid RSS feed]](images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
