92% of firms meet September ATOL renewal deadline
Ninety two per cent of travel companies due to renew their ATOL by the end of September met the deadline.
More than 1,500 firms were due to renew their licences with the Civil Aviation Authority by September 27 and 119 who had applied were not granted an ATOL in time.
Although the upward trend in firms due to renew in September continued, with over 25% more firms applying than two years ago, nine per cent decided not to renew, compared with four per cent in 2004 and 2005.
The CAA’s head of ATOL licensing Andy Cohen said: “Firms decide not to renew for a variety of reasons. On this occasion two-thirds were Small Business licence holders, which reflects the difficulties small start-up businesses experience at a time when trading conditions are particularly difficult.
“But overall, we found licence holders remained positive about the future. This optimism is reflected in the level of licence authorisations for the coming year which for the majority of firms is broadly in line with last year.”
He added: “The September round is the larger of the two renewal periods and this was our largest ever renewal exercise. Of the firms which had applied to renew and provided supporting information, 98% received decisions and 92% renewed on time. We expect the majority of those who did not renew on time to complete by early October.
“Each year a number of firms decide not to renew their licences and this is often seen as a crude measure of the strength of the overall air holiday market. For many of the companies who were not granted licences by the deadline, the business carried out under an ATOL either represents a small portion of their overall operation, or they have a limited season, so renewing on time is less critical.”
*A list of the ATOLs that have not been renewed is on the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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