The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has refused to comment on a suggestion that it is considering a franchise agreement to allow trade organisationsto manage their own ATOL holders.
Such a proposal would involve trade organisations, such as ABTA, or consortia such as Advantage, taking responsibility for members’ ATOL cover.
Advantage chief executive and ABTA chairman John McEwan revealed he has held talks with the CAA on such a proposal. He said: “We would need to work through the implications, but it is a sound principal.”
There are no indications on how such a scheme might work.