Scheduled airlines should be made to provide financial protection against failure in the same way as tour operators, the UK’s passenger watchdog has urged.

The Air Transport Users Council today wrote to new transport secretary Geoff Hoon calling for a flat fee levy on all passengers to be paid into a fund to cover against airline collapses.

The call came in the wake of high profile failures such as Zoom and XL Leisure Group.

“The current climate and the increasingly competitive nature of the industry raises the spectre of a greater likelihood of airline failure,” the AUC said.

“The AUC therefore believes that the time is right for the government to take another look at this issue.”

Tour operators now contribute a £1 levy per passenger as part of the ATOL protection scheme against company collapse an the AUC has been pushing the government for a number of years to introduce a scheme to protect passengers against the failure of scheduled airlines.

AUC chairman Tina Tietjen said: “The AUC’s previous position in respect of scheduled airline failure has been that protection should be provided via a flat fee levy on all passengers paid into a common fund.

“This levy would cover passengers for reimbursement of monies and, for those already abroad, completion of holiday and return home.

“We continue to hold this view and urge the government to give detailed consideration to extending financial protection for air passengers, to include the failure of scheduled airlines.”

by Phil Davies