Obtaining an ATOL is quick and top value

Obtaining an ATOL is quick and top value

Travel Weekly reporter Louise Longman’s Analysis of September 11, “CAAsteers consumers onto a vigilant course” gave a good overview of ATOL protection but there is one aspect I should correct.

Her article refers to obtaining an ATOL being a “fairly expensive and slow process.” In fact, the very opposite is the case.

Currently, the average period for a decision on a new license application is less than six weeks; for renewals, the average is just four weeks. We have worked hard to ensure that our timescales are not restrictive to trade and in fact for many businesses the period is considerably shorter.

It is also misleading to say the cost of protection is high. The annual cost for a small firm (after the initial application, which involves a lot of hard work and is thus rather more expensive) is around £700.

Across the board, the cost of licensing amounts to an average of just 15 pence per passenger, tiny compared with the total average holiday price – and, we believe, excellent value for comprehensive financial protection for 28 million passengers per year.

David Moesli,

Deputy director

Consumer Protection Group

Civil Aviation Authority

London