Travel Convention: Government expected to amend ATOL reforms
The Department for Transport (DfT) is expected to make some changes to the Flight Plus regulations following consultation with the travel industry.
Civil Aviation Authority deputy director David Moesli said that he had personally seen most of the submissions and he would be surprised if there weren’t changes before the law is enforced in January.
“We expect there will be changes, but we’re not sure how far they will go,” he said.
ABTA head of legal affairs Simon Bunce said the news was very encouraging, as there had been a perception that the government had already made a decision.
The DfT will announce within the next few weeks any changes to the rules requiring travel companies to have a Flight Plus licence if they sell flights plus another product.
During a discussion in a break-out group at the ABTA Convention, Moesli admitted there was confusion about what was covered.
Under current proposals, customers who buy a seat-only charter flight on an airline that fails would be repatriated but not receive a refund. Meanwhile, an agent who added car hire to a package would not only require a licence but would be liable for failure of the operator.
“It’s important to get clarity,” said Moesli.
Oh Holiday Group managing director Steve Endacott said he did not agree with the new regulations, but would comply.
He accused the government of ‘money grabbing’ and said they were using agents as a human shield to protect them from having to pay out money when things go wrong.
Endacott said the industry needed to know exactly what was covered. In response to a comment from Moesli about how the CAA would look favourably on certain situations, he retorted: “That’s not good enough. I can’t run my business on the fact that some things may be covered. We need things in black and white.”
By Jeremy Skidmore
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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