The Civil Aviation Authority has rejected claims that some ATOL holders will struggle to secure bonding arrangements from next month.
Just 12 larger ATOL-holding companies out of 2,500 will require bonding alongside payment of the ATOL Protection Contribution, according to CAA consumer protection group deputy director David Moesli.
The £1 APC will be added to protected holidays and flights from April 1, replacing the former bonding scheme for most ATOL holders.
However, new licence-holders and those holding ATOLs for less than four years will still require bonding, as will companies that have significantly changed their business or that the CAA considers to be at greater risk.
Most of these companies hold Small Business ATOLs licensing them to carry no more than 500 passengers. About 600 fall into this category since the Small Business ATOL was only introduced in 2003.
Moesli said: “Just 12 larger companies out of 2,500 ATOL-holders require bonds.” He added: “In the vast majority of cases companies already have a bond in place and, if there was no APC, they would have required a replacement anyway.”
He rejected the suggestion that companies have struggled to obtain bonding. “We are not aware of anyone unable to get a bond. We are not getting calls from people saying they cannot get a bond,” he said.